*Ask her to appear before its panel alongside 36 Commissioners unfailingly today
*Reject her claim that she failed to appear before Reps panel Tuesday due to ill-health
*Warn that failure to honour summons will attract stiff sanctions
*She has knack for not honouring parliaments’ invitations – Moses Anaughe
By Disun Amosun
The Chairman Federal Character Commission, Dr. Muiba Dankaka along with 36 Federal Commissioners have been summoned to appear before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System IPPIS and Job Racketeering, unfailing at 11.00am today (Wednesday) with a warning that failure to do so, will attract stiff sanctions.
A visibly angry Committee Chairman, Rep Yusuf Gagdi gave the ruling yesterday when it became obvious that the Commission Chairman was trying to pull wools over the Committee’s eyes by claiming medical reasons for not attending Tuesday Investigative Hearing, rather she sent a delegation of six Federal Commissioners, two Directors and the Secretary, backed by a letter personally signed by her for representation.
The Committee had initially taken Dr. Dankaka’s excuse and representation request on the face value and allowed the investigation to continue until another set of six Federal Commissioners from the same office walked into the venue and all hell broke loose.
The new set of Federal Commissioners led by the Delta State representative on the Commission’s Board, Mr. Moses Anaughe, during self introduction gave their names, the states they represent and that they were categorical in saying they were not at the Hearing to represent the Board Chairman but to assist the Committee with vital information that will assist its investigation.
Moses Anaughe told the Committee that in line with her usual characteristics, the Board Chairman, Muiba Dankaka has a knack of not honouring Parliament’s invitations to appear before its Committees saying that she would rather tell lies and give excuses for not appearing.
“I can tell you categorically that the Board Chairman is not indisposed, neither is she keeping any medical appointment as claimed. By the time I left the Commission’s office around noon today (Tuesday) she was at her desk” Anaughe said.
There and then the Committee Chairman, Rep. Gagdi regretted not putting Dankaka’s representatives on Oath before allowing them make presentations, a situation he quickly corrected by putting them on Oath and warned them that had he done so before, the revelation by their Delta colleague, if corroborated, those found to have lied on Oath are liable to two years of incarceration.
The other Federal Commissioners, who came latter also attested to the fact that the Commission Board Chairman was in fact at her desk as at noon when they left for the National Assembly.
The appearance of the 9th Assembly Chairman, Public Account Committee, Rep Oluwole Oke, who moved the motion that led to the investigation on the panel added impetus to the Hearing, as his vast experience in engaging public institutions and their chief executives added momentum to the whole exercise.
The IPPIS, taken earlier under the aegis of the Auditor General’s Office was given the leeway to go back and perfect all documents required by the Committee in achieving its mandate.
