The member representing Uhunmwonde and Orhionmwon Federal Constituencies in the House of Representatives, Billy Osawaru, has expressed worry over the alleged blackmail of lawmakers by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs)......READ THE FULL STORY>>.....READ THE FULL STORY>>
He said the trend was disturbing and targeted at getting back at politicians who are lawmakers in the National Assembly (NASS).
Osawaru, who spoke to newsmen in Benin City, said one of the biggest challenges for lawmakers in the country is performing oversight functions.
He noted that they are threatened and their lives are at risk when carrying out such oversight assignments particularly involving law enforcement agencies.
Osawaru lamented that recently the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) officers made an effort to allegedly rubbish the image and hard-earned reputation of a serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria after it accused the senator of possession of hard drugs.
He said the National Assembly would not rest over the matter until a thorough investigation is done to expose those culpable.
“That’s one of the challenges we face as lawmakers. The challenge of blackmail; the challenge of setup. There are areas you will delve into and people will begin to call you, threaten you; try to blackmail you; try to coerce you. They come with all types of tactics,” he said.
“It’s so easy to blackmail us as politicians because a lot of people tend to believe those stories when we are being blackmailed. In the case of the Senator, I don’t know what transpired. But if you ask me I will say the coincidence was not normal.
“To say a senator complained about an agency today, three days time you find drugs in his house. You and I will agree that in our system we have found so many cases of setup where even a policeman can come to your house and plant something in your house just to search.”
Osawaru said NASS was committed to unraveling MDAs who are involved in the habit of blackmailing lawmakers….READ FULL CONTENT FROM THE SOURCE
