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Fred Itua, Abuja
The controversy over the legal practice of Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, in the United States (US) may be far from over, as the upper legislative chamber has indicated interest in probing allegations of forgery against the Delta lawmaker.
Spokesman of the senate, Godiya Akwashiki, while briefing journalists in Abuja, said the upper legislative chamber would only launch the probe if it received a petition from the public.
A coalition of civil society groups, recently, called for the probe of Omo-Agege, over alleged forgery and perjury which it said was in contravention of the 1999 constitution, as amended.
The coalition also called for the resignation of Omo-Agege even as it threatened to mobilise thousands of civil society leaders and youth groups to occupy the National Assembly if the senator was not eased out alongside other corrupt legislators.
The group claimed available information in its possession gave credence to the fact that Omo-Agege was convicted by the State Bar Court of the State of California, Los Angeles, USA and he served a jail term.
But the position of the senate on getting a petition from the public before commencing a probe does not align with some decisions it took recently. For instance, in 2019, a senator raised a point of order and called on the Red Chamber to investigate Senator Clifford Abbo, who publicly assaulted a woman at a sex toy shop in Abuja.
The senate, subsequently, constituted a committee to investigate the alleged public assault even when no petition was sent by a member of the public.
Order 15 of the senate standing rule, gives any senator the right to raise a point of order on an issue that affects the Senate.
The senate spokesman, however, said he could not speak for the US where the senator was allegedly indicted.
“The issue of Deputy Senate President, just like any other person, I read in the news, but I want to say here that I am speaking here for the ninth Senate, I am not speaking for American court or judiciary as an arm of government in Nigeria.
“The issue of Clifford Elisha Abbo is similar but entirely different from the issue of the Deputy Senate President. We are senators and lawmakers. So, we should be seen working within the purview of the law of the land.
“The issue of the Deputy Senate President is not even in Nigeria. I don’t know anything about it. We are senators. If somebody petitions the committee on Public Petitions, I want to assure you, we will look into it. For now, it is not an issue of the senate,” said Akwashiki.
Special adviser to Omo-Agege, Yomi Odunuga, in a statement, said Omo-Agege had been cleared of any wrongdoing in the US.
“For the umpteenth time, we would like to reiterate the fact that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege was cleared of all charges in the said case and he was never a convict in the US as being alleged. Till date, he travels freely to and within the country without any hint of harassment… We will meet the blackmailer in court,” Odunuga said.
