by Azeez Adeniyi

The Senate ad hoc committee on Mounting Humanitarian crisis in the North East has said the refusal of Suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal to honour its invitation will not stop it from presenting its report.

Lawal had failed to appear before the committee for the third time on Thursday.

Lawal is being probed for contract fraud in the rehabilitation of ravaged areas in the North East.

[Read Also: SUSPENDED SGF, BABACHIR LAWAL ABSENT AT SENATE COMMITTEE HEARING]

He was re-invited by the committee through a letter on Wednesday to answer questions on his role in the alleged mismanagement of funds by the Presidential Initiative on the North-East

The lawmakers said they would not invite Lawal to defend himself anymore.

They added that the final report on the probe would be laid before the Senate on Tuesday.

The interim report of the committee in December had called for the probe and sack of Lawal.

[Read Also: OSINBAJO’S PANEL REQUESTS SENATE’S REPORT ON BABACHIR LAWAL]

Chairman of the panel, Senator Shehu Sani, while addressing journalists at the meeting venue on Thursday, said Lawal gave no reasons for his absence.

Sani added, “We thought that now that he is on suspension, he would have enough time to be here. We sent letters to his former office and his house but the one for his house could not be delivered. The men at the gate turned back our messenger.

“Now, we are here since 10am, waiting for him, and it’s now 12 noon. It is clear to us that he is not appearing. As you can see, he is not here.

“We see this as a deliberate choice to absent himself from this committee and we believe that the general public has seen how we all tried to give the man an opportunity to defend himself publicly.”

A member of the committee, Ben Murray-Bruce said the Senate was planning to conclude its investigation with Lawal’s defence but he didn’t show up.