The party stated that the Speaker is involved in the matter and cannot be a judge in his own case.
The Speaker had set a committee following a petition over the alleged mismanagement of the N22 billion Paris Club refund against the former Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Obinna Oriaku.
Publicity Secretary of the APC in Abia, Comrade Ben Godson, in a statement, reminded the House of Assembly that the case is still in court and warned The Speaker to shun legislative disrespect for the Judiciary
“We wish to use this medium to ask Abia State of Assembly led by Hon. Chinedum Orji to avoid any form of legislative rascality and disrespect for the judiciary in the ongoing case concerning how Abia Paris Refund was utilized.
“The committee set up by the House to investigate the N22b case already ongoing in court with whatever excuse that it was brought to them by a lawyer or a law firm is unacceptable and a sign of desperation.
“How can a House led by a Speaker who is purely involved in the case convince a sane person that their purported move to ascertain the validity or otherwise of the allegations raised by Mr. Obinna Oriaku, a former Commissioner for Finance, is in the interest of Justice?
“Our stand is simple; Abia House of Assembly is not a court of competent jurisdiction. It is a legislative arm of government, its Speaker is directly or indirectly involved in the case. We don’t want to dwell on the baseless argument that the Speaker is not the person to chair the investigation committee. All we are saying is that the House of Assembly should not try to interfere in a case that is already in court for whatever reason.
“Therefore let them stay off the case and should continue with their legislative duties. Let them allow the court handle the matter, as it has appeared in court as an ongoing case.”
