The dust is yet to settle over the corruption saga between the National Assembly and the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Development Commission (NDDC)
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi (PDP Delta North), has decried defamation of character and is suing Mrs Lauretta Onochie, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhamnadu Buhari
Onochie had backed IMC on its refusal to appear before the Ad-hoc Committee of the Senate, mandated to probe N40billion allegedly squandered by the Commission between January and March this year.
The lawmaker gave the President Buhari Senior Special Assistant 48 hours to retract all her alleged disparaging comments against him as regards contracts from NDDC or face litigation immediately.
The threat was contained in a letter of litigation written to Mrs Onochie on Tuesday in Abuja by solicitors to Nwaoboshi.
The letter reads in part: “Consequent upon your unsubstantiated allegations against, our client, he demands that you publish/post a retraction on all your social media platforms and tender an unreserved apology to him within forty eight hours from the day of delivery of this letter.
“TAKE NOTE that if you fail to comply with the demands as stated above, we have our client’s instructions to take legal action against you without further recourse to you. A stitch in time saves nine.”
The solicitors who are Bwala&Co of the Crystal Chambers and Daniel Hassan Bwala of Lincoln’s Inn London in the letter dated 9th June, 2020 and addressed to Mrs. Lauretta Onochie, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Media, State House, Abuja, chronicled all her alleged disparaging comments against Nwaoboshi and demanded for retraction and apology within 48 hours .
The letter titled: Defamatory Publication by you against the Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, further reads, “we are Solicitors to Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi, Chairman Senate Committee on NDDC hereinafter called our Client, on whose instructions we write you on the relative above.
“Our Client informed us and we verily believe him that; On the 8th day of June 2020, you posted/published a defamatory article on your Facebook page (Lauretta Onochie) against our client captioned ‘NDDC- THE CHICKEN COMES HOME TO ROOST’ appearing on your page as follows, amongst other.
“I was at an event in his home town when he spoke in our Anioma language, declaring himself a thief. I am an Ada Anioma. I was raised in Anioma land. We do not take what belongs to others, let alone pride ourselves in being thieves.
“The question Senator Nwaoboshi has refused to answer is to tell Niger Delta citizens and Nigerians his role in the award of contracts for the provision of 4,800 plastic desks and chairs for primary/secondary schools in nine (9) states of the Niger Delta in 2016 with award of contract letters dated 22nd September, 2016.
“The contract sum was for N3.6 Billion Naira. The revelations in the award of the said contract are mind boggling, disturbing and appalling , using eleven different companies and business names which were awarded the contract are owned by or traceable to one and the same person being Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi.
“The said companies/business names are: Noan Integrated Services; De Towers Constructions & Allied Services Ltd; Franstine Nigeria Enterprises; Edrihide Company; Isumabe U.K. Global; Benchmark Construction at Allied Services
Millstone Allied Builders Ltd.; Nelpat Nigeria Company; Agh-Rown Ventures; Edendoma Star International; and Antlers Construction and Allied Works Ltd.
“The inventory records show that these items were supplied and received on Senator Nwaoboshi’s business premises and warehouse, not to the beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the contacts were awarded to him.
“However, some of the items supplied to Nwaoboshi’s warehouse through his cronies, were later resold to the Delta state government, while the others were sold to other states through contracts awarded to him.
“All supply agreements were signed by one and the same person being Mr. Agbamuche Nelson, traceable to Senator Nwaoboshi. This is in flagrant contravention of section 58(4) (a) and (d) of the Public Procurement Act.
“No wonder Sen. Nwaoboshi and his cohorts are jittery about the ongoing Forensic Audit exercise in the NDDC and are doing everything possible to derail it.”
The Solicitors to Nwaoboshi said: “That our client believes that this publication by you against him is meant to ridicule his image all because you occupy an important position in the government of President Buhari in relation to social media. so that whatever you posted or shared should be taken as the position of the President and therefore your post/publications would be believed by others.
“That our client believes that this publication/ post about him is meant to be understood and was understood by reasonable and right thinking members of the public that he is:
a thief as you called him in your Facebook post, Corrupt and a criminal; Abusing his office and not fit to represent the good people of Delta North senatorial district, Committing atrocities as Chairman Senate committee on Niger Delta and not a man of integrity.
“That this publication was made/posted by you mischievously and maliciously. To say the least, the said libellous post is calculated to undermine him knowing that the Senate is carrying out a probe of the NDDC.
“That it is our clients belief that for you to call him a thief without being convicted by a court of law has not only maligned his image but also has ridiculed his integrity.
“That it is only a competent court of law that can pronounce someone a thief when the person is found guilty of a crime.
“That there is no doubt that your Facebook posts/publications enjoys wide readership throughout Nigeria and globally as Special Assistant to Nigeria’s President on social media.
“To have maligned, disparaged and tarnished his reputation, integrity and image both in his official and personal capacity is not only condemnable but punishable.”
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