Proceedings at a panel of the house of representatives set up to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against three members of the house were stalled on Thursday as a result of the failure of the United States Ambassador, James Entwistle, to appear before the panel.
The outgoing US ambassador had written a letter to the speaker of the house, Hon Yakubu Dogara in which he levied the allegations against the three legislators, detailing their alleged improper conduct during a visit to the US.
Vanguard reports that the minister of foreign affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyema was also absent at the sitting probe panel but was said to have sent a letter to the committee on Wednesday, informing the lawmakers that he was attending the executive meeting of the 29th Ordinary Session of the African Union.
The Ossai Nicholas Ossai-led committee was forced to adjourn the probe till 20th July when the minister will be around to provide answers to his interface with the Ambassador.
Members of the committee were also reported to have said that the outgoing ambassador had lost his immunity by writing together to the speaker of the house instead of following the formal protocol of routing the letter through the foreign affairs ministry.
The three lawmakers in the eye of the storm – Mohammed Garba Gololo (APC-Bauchi); Samuel Ikon (PDP-Akwa Ibom) and Mark Gbillah (APC-Benue) including Gbillah’s wife and child attended the public hearing.
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