Was committee chairman's palm oiled to edit report?
Are some members of a powerful parliamentary oversight committee unhappy with the habit of their chairman? Well, reports indicate that members of the panel are furious after the chairman single-handedly altered a report they had filed recommending investigation of top state officials. He has not disclosed to his members the reason behind the 'massive editing' of the report. However, they suspect the chairman's palm could have been oiled by the officials implicated in the initial report. The irked members are now plotting to impeach him, but they are facing hurdles after it emerged the chairman enjoys the blessings of a top politician.
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Two years after they started using the Zoom conferencing platform due to Covid 19, some MPs are still struggling using it. Early this week, a second-term legislator shocked his colleagues after he said he did not know how to turn on his video. The rules of the House are that a member must be visible on the screen to participate in the proceedings. However, the lawmaker said he has never operated the Zoom platform on his own. He relies on his office aides. But on this day, the good lawmaker was away from his office. After waiting for him for about five minutes as he struggled to turn on his video, the chairman ruled him out of order. He said allowing the member to participate without visuals would amount to breach of House rules.
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Did he display his ignorance or was he right to allow his junior to articulate issues to us? These were the questions members of a parliamentary committee asked themselves after a Cabinet Secretary delegated his CAS to respond to their questions. The two officials had appeared before the committee to respond to an array of questions. However, the CS rarely uttered a word during the entire two-hour session. Instead, he invited the CAS to respond to every question posed to him as the head of the Ministry. The members wondered why the CS, who is always strong and articulate on the podium, delegated to his junior, who is barely two years in the ministry. BY THE STAR
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