Enugu govt. officials shun Assembly invitations for 3rd time

By IFEOMA AKA

Some Enugu State Government official have again ignored for the third time invitations sent to them by special committee set up by the State  to investigate illegal extortion of residence of the state.

.The House Committee chairman on Communication, Jeff Mba, stated this on Tuesday in Enugu while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the committee’s meeting at the Assembly Complex.

Mba said it would submit its report, in spite of the refusal of some invited government officials to appear before it.

Mba said that the committee had no choice than to submit its report, including the observations as well as challenges encountered in the course of the investigation, on the floor of the assembly.

According to him, the report would guide and also enable the seventh assembly to take decision on how to harmonise multiple taxation on Enugu residents, to put an end to the illegal extortion in the metropolis.

“Part of the constitutional process is to send the report to the floor of Enugu State House of Assembly for consideration.

“And in doing so, we are going to mention all the problems we encountered and the assemble will decide as a committee of the whole on the next action to take,” Mba said.

On the refusal of the chairman, Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA), Mr Josef Onoh, and commissioner for Land, Mr Victor Nnam, to appear before the committee, the house spokesman hinted that the assembly would take decision on that.

“We are not going to begin to engage individuals who probably have excuse for not appearing to offer their own help to this committee,” he added.

Mba pointed out that Onoh and Nnam were invited to brief the lawmakers on the allegations leveled against the two government establishments.

According to the House spokesman, the activities of the agency and the ministry are seriously hampering and scaring away local and foreign investors from the state.

He said investors were being made to pay through their nose before setting up their businesses.

The lawmaker, representing Oji River Constituency, disclosed that the Seventh Assembly would not sit and allow any state government’s ministry, department or agency (MDA) to scare away potential investors.

He said the activities of MDA officials were robbing the state of internally generated revenue.

Mba said the two government officials were also invited to educate the lawmakers on the way their establishments generate revenue for the government.

Earlier, the deputy speaker of the Assembly, Mr Uche Ugwu, expressed dismay at the refusal of Onoh and Nnam to appear before it to assist the committee in its investigation.

He described it as a total disregard to the state’s legislative arm of the government.

The deputy speaker, who dismissed representatives of the ECTDA, stressed that the assembly would not interface with them as they were not competent to either answer or provided information needed by the lawmakers.

Ugwu noted that they, as the representatives of the people, would not sit and allow their constituents to be extorted by government ministries, department or agency under the guise of generating revenue for Enugu state. (NAN)