A human rights advocacy group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, has called for the prosecution of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lasun Yusuff, over the allegation of N1.1bn water contract scam.
SERAP, in a statement on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Timothy Adewale, urged the acting chairmen of both the Code of Conduct Bureau and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to jointly investigate the alleged fraud committed by Yusuff.
The group alleged that Yusuff used his personal company to win water contracts amounting to about N1.1bn from the Ministry of Water Resources.
SERAP, in its petition to the CCB and ICPC dated June 8, 2018, said, “Investigating the allegations and prosecuting all those suspected to be involved would indicate your agencies’ willingness to exert your authorities and act as a deterrent against breaches of the Code of Conduct provisions, Nigeria’s anti-corruption legislation and international standards.”
“Public officials allegedly securing for themselves and/or their companies and family members privileges rightly belonging to the public by by-passing or manipulating the formal procedures necessary for the award of these privileges is a textbook case of conflict of interests.”
The group, however, expressed concern that Yusuff’s alleged act suggested an abuse of his position as a lawmaker, and an apparent conflict of interests situation in the exercise of his legislative functions to promote the commercial and other interests of his own company, Nur and Company Nigeria limited.
The petition read in part, “Bidding and winning the water project contract and the alleged mismanagement and/or stealing of about N1.1bn meant to execute the project may have violated constitutional provisions and international standards on the code of conduct for public officers and the Public Procurement Act.
“SERAP notes that the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party prohibit conflict of interests and set ethical standards for public officers, including lawmakers. Both the Constitution and the Convention require public officers to abstain from all acts that may compromise the exercise of their public functions and are inconsistent with their entrusted positions.”
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