…As Lai snubbed senate committee on Culture and Tourism again
…Perm Sec. apologise on his behalf
BY RAPHAEL EKPANG,ABUJA
Despite the directive from PRESIDENT MUHAMADU BUHARI that all Ministers should suspend their foreign trips and attend to the national assembly for the budget defence, LAI MOHAMMED is yet to come to terms with that as he fragrantly snubbed the invitation of the Senate committee on Tourism and Culture a parastatal under his ministry for the third time.
Following this act of the minister, Instant Africa can authoritatively reports that if Lai fail to appear again as he is going to be invited on Monday for the budget defence, the committee will have no option than to wait and hit him harder when he will eventually appear before it for budget defence.
The committee members waited for the minister for almost three hours in one of the committee hearing rooms but were surprise with the non-appearance of LAI MOHAMMED who was actually seen within the national assembly for another function. Hence, when it was obvious that the minister was not going to appear before the committee, they both retired to their offices.
However, while the committee Chairman, SEN. OWELLE ROCHAS OKORACHA was on the verge of leaving too, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry of Information and Culture, GRACE ISU GEKPE walked in.
SEN. OKOROCHA who was not too impressed with the attitude of Lai Mohammed informed the permanent Secretary that her minister has turned down the invitation of the committee the third time, stressing that he personally called him two times but he “Lai Muhammed” did not find it important to appear before his committee.
“Your minister has failed to appear before my committee for the third time, and I personally called him and he promised to come but he never show up, please tell him to come for the budget defence on the next date that will be given to him,” OKOROCHA sent the Permanent Secretary of the ministry to the minister.
On her part, the Permanent Secretary pleaded with the Senators on behalf of the minister, stating that the minister was in a budget defence with the senate committee on information and shortly after that he left for other engagements.
“Please, distinguished, I am pleading on behalf of my minister he is not doing that deliberately, it is just that he has been very busy,” she pleaded.
According to information gathered LAI MOHAMMED is more concentrating on the information than Tourism and culture, the reason he is not border attending to the invitation of the senate committee on Tourism and Culture.
Meanwhile, we were reliably informed that if Lai fail to appear the fourth time, the Senators will not take it kindly with him as they have considered his non-appearance for the third time as affront on their personalities.
It would be recalled that the Senate committee on tourism and culture had invited LAI MOHAMMED for an interactive session twice and for his budget defence but he failed to appear
