OTEDOLA SET TO RELEASE MORE LAWAN VIDEO

Chairman, Zenon Oil, Mr Femi Otedola is
set to release 17 more audio tapes and
six video tapes of what transpired
between him and Farouk Lawan, the
House of Representatives member in the
$3 million bribery scandal.
Nigerian Tribune learnt from credible sources
that Nigerians will get to hear and view all the
tapes by the end of this week.
Only yesterday, the House of Representatives
Committee on Ethics and Privileges inquiry
into the $3 million bribery allegation levelled
against Lawan, the sacked ad hoc committee
chairman on the management of fuel subsidy
by Otedola, hit a brick wall.
Nigerian Tribune learnt that when Otedola
appeared before the committee, all the
questions directed at him were not answered.
He was said to have insisted that the meeting
should be held in the open rather than being
made a closed door session.
Otedola appeared before the House panel
probing his allegation against Lawan,
accompanied by 10 persons, including a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Jide Koku. He
insisted that the probe must be held in the
open before he could be able to make any
statement.
Otedola's address to the committee reads in
part: "This is a matter that has generated a lot
of public interest and controversy. The House
of Representatives committee on the
management of fuel subsidy, headed by
Honourable Farouk Lawan, held all its sittings
in public. When this issue (bribery allegation)
arose, the House of Representatives
Committee on Ethics and Privileges publicly
stated that its investigations will be held in
public.
"It is, therefore, surprising and curious that
this committee has made a U-turn to hold its
investigative sittings in camera, particularly in
the light of unfolding events. I strongly believe
that the interest of the public will not be best
served if this investigation is held in camera.
"I have nothing to hide and will only speak on
this issue when this investigation is conducted
in a very transparent manner and the press as
well as the general public are allowed to be
present at the sittings of this committee from
the beginning of its investigation to its
conclusion," he concluded.
Nigerian Tribune, however, learnt that the
committee's session with Otedola was stormy
as all efforts by the panel to commit him into
answering the questions posed to him were
unsuccessful.
The committee's session with Otedola which
lasted for about one hour and 30 minutes
failed to achieve any result.
Immediately Otedola stormed out of the
committee room, where he was supposed to be
interrogated, journalists accosted him for a
response but he stood his ground that he
would not say anything, claiming that Lawan
had been inconsistent in his statements on the
issue.
Otedola's lawyer, Mr Koku, also said, "Otedola's
position is simple, that Farouk Lawan's
statements have been inconsistent. First he
denied accepting the money and later turned
around to admit that he collected the money.
"He (Lawan) said he gave (Honourable Adams)
Jagaba the money, Jagaba denied that he
received the money. He said he had discussed
the issue with the EFCC chairman, who has
denied same," he said.
However, the chairman of the House
committee, Honourable Gambo Dan-Musa, who
later briefed newsmen confirmed that Otedola
failed to answer all the questions posed to him
and that rather than answering the question,
he (Otedola) was laughing at the lawmakers.
According to him, "Mr Otedola appeared before
us in compliance with our invitation in order to
get to the root of the bribery allegation levelled
against one of our members, but unfortunately,
he refused to answer all the questions posed to
him. We even told him that he was not an
accused before us today but a witness against
one of our members who was accused of
wrongdoing, but he refused."
To this end, he disclosed that despite the
refusal of Otedola to answer the committee's
question, the committee would still go ahead
with the investigation and invite all other
concerned parties in the bribery allegation.










Ascology