Senate mandates 5 committees to probe Amaechi

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, will have to undergo Senate probe over his ministry’s alleged concessioning of rail lines to General Electric (GE), a US company, without following due process.

This is as the senate has directed five of its standing committees, privatisation, land transport, anti-corruption and financial crimes, special duties, trade and investment and judiciary to begin investigation into the concessioning process.

The Senate also wants the committees to look into the allegation that the concessioning process was not open to competitive bidding and if legal procedures were bypassed as the ministry has been accused of.

Read also: Jibrin on exile over alleged assassination threats to his life by some lawmakers

This is coming after Bassey Akpan, a senator from Akwa Ibom north-east, in a motion on Tuesday, accused Amaechi of breaching the Public Enterprises Privatisation & Commercialisation Act 1999 by individually engaging GE without resort to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

This may not be the best of time for Amaechi whom several Nigerians have continued to call for his suspension after he was accused by two Supreme Court judges of trying to bribe them in order to pervert judgments in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He has however denied the allegations.
By Ebere Ndukwu …

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