US places travel ban on lawmakers involved in alleged sex scandal

The three lawmakers fingered in a sex scandal while on a leadership training programme to the US have been barred from visiting the country, Ripples Nigeria has gathered. Emerging reports say that their visas had been withdrawn, indicating that they may not be welcome to the US in the near future. This is even as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Thursday authorized investigations into the scandal.

The three lawmakers who are members of the House of Representatives are Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom), Mohammed Gololo (APC, Bauchi) and Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue).

The scandal broke open when the US ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, in a petition dated June 9, 2016, drew the attention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to the alleged misconduct.

Read also: Reps return from US training with sex scandal

The petition which noted that the lawmakers were in Cleveland, USA, for the International Visitor Leadership Programme alleged that  Mr. Gololo was reported by a hotel house keeper to have grabbed her and sought sex, while Messrs Ikon and Gbillah, allegedly, sought the assistance of hotel park attendants to help them get prostitutes

Dogara’s directives were confirmed by Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, who said that the leadership of the House took the action following a formal complaint made by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle.

“We are in receipt of a letter from the US Ambassador, alleging misconduct by some members of the National Assembly, who attended a training programme in the United States of America.

“The leaderships of the House has commenced its own part of the investigation. When it is concluded, we will brief Nigerians further on this issue,” he said.

He added, “When we say we will conduct an investigation, we will conduct it and there will be a report.”

 

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