Spokesperson of the Senate, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, has revealed that issues of the 2016 budget have occupied the leadership of the upper chamber and have diverted its attention from other cases such as the request for the issuance of a warrant for the arrest of the immediate past Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Lamorde.

Abdullahi made this disclosure to The Punch, adding that the process to ensure that the ex-EFCC boss faces investigation at the Senate was still on course.

He further noted that since the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions had confirmed making a formal request to the office of the Senate President for the issuance of a warrant for Lamorde’s arrest, necessary actions would be taken in that regard.

In his words, “If the committee has made its request to the Senate President, then it is left for somebody also to do his own part because in taking any decision, you must look at what the rules and regulations say.

“We must follow the procedure. It has certain basic things that must be met, perhaps, I want to believe that they are still in the process of doing what has to be done.

“What is our worry now is the budget. If when we have not passed the budget we are now expending energy on how somebody who had gone on ‘AWOL’ is brought back, people will accuse us of not being serious with the welfare of Nigerians.

“Right now we are concentrating our energy on what is key to Nigeria, which is the budget; which itself is a process.”

The senate had asked the Anyanwu-led committee to start the process of issuing the warrant of arrest on Lamorde.

Lamorde is being probed on a petition filed against him by one Dr. George Uboh on a reported diversion of over N1tn recovered from treasury looters by the anti-graft agency.

Uboh, Chief Executive Officer of Panic Alert Security Systems, had written the Senate through the senator representing Delta-North senatorial district, Peter Nwaoboshi.

He had claimed that Lamorde, with some other EFCC officials, shortchanged the Federal Government in the remittance of funds and assets recovered from some eminent public office holders.

Uboh also claimed that under Lamorde, the EFCC operated accounts in banks to warehouse recovered funds which did not reflect in the EFCC audited accounts.

He also alleged that the EFCC manipulated bank accounts to conceal diversion of funds, and also give out recovered funds to unidentified persons and EFCC officials.

Apart from these, the former EFCC boss was also said to have diverted over 90 per cent of the EFCC recovered funds in foreign currencies, including those from multinational companies.

At the consideration of the report at plenary, the ethics panel cried out that all efforts explored to get Lamorde’s reaction to the allegations were abortive.

Anyanwu, who presented the report, said that Lamorde turned a deaf ear to all invitations extended to him, therefore recommended that a warrant of arrest be issued on him.

He added that the panel was convinced that Larmode deliberately refused to appear to defend the allegations.

The committee pointed out that it was imperative for the Senate to force Larmode to appear to ‘save the National Assembly as the highest law-making body of the nation, from an irreparable damage to its reputation and capacity to summon.’

The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, pointed out that it was in accordance with the provisions of the constitution that the ethics committee should write a request to the Senate President who would, in turn, issue a directive to the Inspector General of Police.

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki agreed with Ekweremadu’s submission and ruled that the committee should do the right thing to get the warrant of arrest issued on Larmode.