Flouting of Any Parts of the Nation’s Laws Will be Met with Deserving Sanctions, House Tell Foreign Affairs

*House Meets with Management, Officials of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Headquarters*

* Directs the Ministry to Rescind Contents of a Letter Requesting Ambassadors at Post to Stay Action on the Implementation of Parts of the 2022 Appropriations Act;

*Says Flouting of Any Parts of the Nation’s Laws Will be Met with Deserving Sanctions.

Speaker,House of Representatives,Rt. Hon.Femi Gbajabiamila,has warned that any attempts at flouting the laws of the land will be met with deserved sanctions.

The foremost lawmaker made the above statement ,Monday,in Abuja while addressing the press following a closed-door meeting with the leadership of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Management and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in his office.

While pointing out that the law in question is in force and binding on every Nigerian, Gbajabiamila stressed that no member of the Management of the Ministry or its officials had any right whatsoever to disobey it,and that the the law would, certainly, catch up with anyone who sought to do so.

He also warned that the National Assembly would not accept any form of arm-twisting by the Ministry and that anyone who desires any form of amendment in any of the subsisting nation’s laws must be prepared to lobby the National Assembly with a template that the Assembly has to compare with its own.

You may recall that the House of Representatives, following a Motion moved at plenary by Hon. Kasimu Bello Maigari,invited the Management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to meet with the leadership of the House this week.

In the Motion seeking the leave of the House to compel the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to obey part of the 2022 Appropriations Act,which empowers Ambassadors at post to spend the Capital Components of their budget without recourse to the Ministry headquarters,the lawmaker had argued that the process in place was too cumbersome to allow for effective results and development at Missions.

Among those who were at the meeting were the Chairman,House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rt. Hon.( Dr.) Yusuf Buba Yakub, and his deputy,Hon.Timehin Adelegbe. Others from the Ministry headquarters include: the Hon. Minister Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama,the Permanent Secretary,Amb. Gabriel Tanimu Aduda;the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Amb. Janet Olisa, as well as other Directors and members of the Management team of the Ministry.