THE Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has shunned an invitation by the Code of Conduct Bureau over an ongoing investigation bordering on alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for public officers.
Our correspondent who was at the CCB headquarters, Federal Secretariat, Abuja on Tuesday, observed that the minister, who was scheduled to meet with interrogators at 11am, did not show up at the bureau between 10am and 2:30pm.
Confirming the development in a telephone interview on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the CCB, Veronica Kato, said the minister’s interrogation would be rescheduled for a later date following his memo to the bureau citing national assignment.
“Yes, the minister’s interrogation has been rescheduled. He wrote, asking that it be rescheduled because he has a national assignment, so it has been rescheduled for a later date,” Kato said.
When asked about the next scheduled date, she said there was no specific date yet.
“We don’t have a precise date now, but it has been rescheduled to another day,” she said.
The CCB had invited the embattled minister over the involvement of his company in a ₦438 million contract with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The company, New Planet Projects, allegedly belonging to the minister, benefitted from a contract from the ministry.
A document exclusively obtained by our correspondent on Monday revealed that the CCB invited the minister to appear before it on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at the CCB headquarters, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja.
The document signed by Gwimi S.P, the CCB Director, Investigation and Monitoring, on behalf of the CCB Chairman, Murtala Aliyu, revealed that the bureau’s invitation is hinged on its mandate and powers as enshrined in the Third Schedule, Part 1, 3 (e) of the 1999 Constitution.
The letter addressed to the minister, read, “The bureau is investigating a case of alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers in which your name featured prominently. Consequently, you are invited for an interview scheduled as follows:
“Date: Tuesday, 16th January, 2024. Time: 1100hrs prompt. Venue: CCB Headquarters on 5th Floor, Annex III, Phase I, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja.
“This invitation is pursuant to the mandate and powers of the Bureau as enshrined in the Third Schedule, Part I, Paragraph 3 (e) to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. Please be properly guided.”