The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Tuesday failed to show up at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), to answer questions in an ongoing investigation over on alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for public officers.
Tunji-Ojo, who was to meet with interrogators at 11am, did not show up at the bureau between 10am and 1pm.
Confirming the development to Punch, the spokesperson for the CCB, Veronica Kato, said the minister’s interrogation would be rescheduled for a later date following his memo to the bureau citing national assignment.
“Yes, the minister’s interrogation has been rescheduled. He wrote, asking that it be rescheduled because he has a national assignment, so it has been rescheduled for a later date,” Kato said.
When asked about the next scheduled date, she said there was no specific date yet.
“We don’t have a precise date now, but it has been rescheduled to another day,” she said.
The CCB had invited the embattled minister over the involvement of his company in a ₦438 million contract with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The company, New Planet Projects, allegedly belonging to the minister, benefitted from a contract from the ministry.
A document exclusively obtained by our correspondent on Monday revealed that the CCB invited the minister to appear before it on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at the CCB headquarters, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja.
The document signed by Gwimi S.P, the CCB Director, Investigation and Monitoring, on behalf of the CCB Chairman, Murtala Aliyu, revealed that the bureau’s invitation is hinged on its mandate and powers as enshrined in the Third Schedule, Part 1, 3 (e) of the 1999 Constitution.
