In the face of an ongoing investigation, Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has chosen to disregard the Code of Conduct Bureau’s invitation, raising questions about potential violations of the Code of Conduct for public officials.
Africa Today News, New York, noted at the CCB headquarters in the Federal Secretariat, Abuja on Tuesday that the minister, slated for a meeting with investigators at 11 am, was conspicuously absent from the bureau premises from 10 am to 1 pm.
In a telephone interview on Tuesday, CCB spokesperson Veronica Kato confirmed the situation, revealing that the minister’s interrogation is set to be rescheduled after he communicated to the bureau, citing a national assignment.
‘Yes, the minister’s interrogation has been rescheduled. He wrote, asking that it be rescheduled because he has a national assignment, so it has been rescheduled for a later date,’ Kato said.
When asked about the next scheduled date, she said there was no specific date yet.
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‘We don’t have a precise date now, but it has been rescheduled to another day,’ she said.
The embattled minister received an invitation from the CCB, centering on his company’s connection to a ₦438 million contract with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The ministry reportedly awarded a contract to New Planet Projects, a company purportedly linked to the minister.
On Monday, a document revealed that the CCB has summoned the minister to attend at the CCB headquarters in the Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja, on Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
The document signed by Gwimi S.P, the CCB Director, Investigation and Monitoring, on behalf of the CCB Chairman, Murtala Aliyu, revealed that the bureau’s invitation is hinged on its mandate and powers as enshrined in the Third Schedule, Part 1, 3 (e) of the 1999 Constitution.
The letter addressed to the minister, read, ‘The bureau is investigating a case of alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers in which your name featured prominently. Consequently, you are invited for an interview scheduled as follows:
‘Date: Tuesday, 16th January, 2024. Time: 1100hrs prompt. Venue: CCB Headquarters on 5th Floor, Annex III, Phase I, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja.’
‘This invitation is pursuant to the mandate and powers of the Bureau as enshrined in the Third Schedule, Part I, Paragraph 3 (e) to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. Please be properly guided.’