TheCable

Buruji Kashamu, a former senator who represented Ogun-east, says it is shameful that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) claims to have recovered constituency project items from him.

The agency had said it recovered three ambulances and a 500KVA transformer meant for constituency projects from the ex-lawmaker.

In a statement on Friday, Austin Oniyokor, Kashamu’s media aide, described the agency’s claim as mischievous.

He said the items were handed over to ICPC officials as against the agency’s claim that it recovered it.

“The items were delivered to the Constituency office in Ijebu-Igbo by the contractors late in 2017,” he said.

Oniyokor said Kashamu could not execute the constituency project because of the corrupt act of Onadeko Onamusi, one of his aides at the time.

He said the act was reported to the ICPC and the aide was arrested and charged to court on the grounds of violating sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

“However, as the distribution of the items and execution of the various projects were ongoing, Senator Kashamu discovered that his former Senior Legislative aide (SLA), Onadeko Onamusi, abused his position and influenced the award of 18 out of the 21 constituency projects to two of his (the SLA’s) companies – Stanton Nigeria Limited and Haines & Baines Nigeria Limited,” he said.

“Alarmed at the discovery, Senator Kashamu issued a query to Onamusi and terminated his appointment. Thereafter, the matter was reported to the ICPC.

“The ICPC investigated the matter, arrested and charged Onamusi to court.”

Oniyokor said the distribution of the project items was stalled as the items became evidence which could not be tampered with.

He said it is shameful that the ICPC could lay recovery claim on such items which it is aware of.

“So, for any objective mind, it should not be difficult to understand that there was no way the distribution of the items could have continued since they had become a subject of litigation and could be used as evidence. It is even more so when part of the senator’s complaint was that the contractor supplied Volvo hearse instead of supplying ambulances,” he said.

“This was the situation until Senator Kashamu served out his term of office in June 2019.

“It is shameful that the same agency that got Onamusi arrested, investigated and charged to court over the same items could turn round to claim recovery of the items that had been reported to it on the basis of some unfounded intelligence”.