The House of Representatives has instructed their legal counsel to dragged the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to court for his inability to show proof that its members were beneficiaries of contracts awards from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The lawmakers particularly accused the minister of committing perjury while testifying before the committee probing into alleged malfeasance in the finances of the NDDC.
The Speaker of the House, Mr.Femi Gbajabiamila who made this known in a speech which he read on the floor of the House.
He said that he had instructed the Clerk of the House to engage the service of lawyers to initiate the perjury proceedings against Akpabio after he failed to heed to the House request to publish the list of members who got contracts from the NDDC.
In his words, “This morning, I asked the Clerk of the House to engage the services of legal counsel, and instruct them to initiate a criminal complaint of perjury against the Minister.
“At the same time, we will instruct counsel to explore the possibility of a civil defamation suit.”
Gbajabiamila declared emphatically that he will not tolerate anybody to tarnish the image of the House unduly, adding that any action aimed at assassinating the character of the House will be resisted.
It will be recalled that at the hearing on Monday, Mr Akpabio said that members of the House are the greatest beneficiaries of the contracts given out by the Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC).
