A week after a mysterious snake allegedly swallowed about N36 million belonging to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), a mysterious monkey has swallowed N70 million in the coffers of the Northern Senators Forum.
This followed allegations of financial misconduct leveled against Chairman of the Forum, Abdullahi Adamu, leading to his sack on Wednesday.
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu who made the announcement at plenary, pointed out that the 58-member forum has appointed a former governor of Sokoto State, Aliyu Wamakko, as the new Chairman.
But speaking with journalists after plenary, a member of the Forum representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, explained that monkeys raided the farmhouse of the senator and carted away the funds.
The money, he added, was handed over to Adamu by the Treasurer of the Forum in the Seventh Senate, Ahmad Lawan.
Coincidentally, Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa State led nine other senators to stage a walk out last week over adoption of the report by the Senate and House of Representatives Conference Committee on the amendment to the Electoral Act.
This development comes as an arrowhead of pro-Buhari senators against the re-ordering of elections, Ovie Omo-Agege, tendered an unreserved apology over his comments that the amendment was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari.
The removal was announced in a letter read by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, shortly before the end of the plenary on Wednesday.
The letter signed by the Public Relations Officer of the forum noted that Adamu was removed for “financial mismanagement and other related matters.”
“This is to inform the Senate that the majority signatories of members of the Northern Senators Forum. We have removed Sen. Abdullahi Adams as chairman of the Northern Senators Forum for financial mismanagement and misadministration.
“We announce his replacement with Senator Aliyu Wamakko immediately. Find the attached names and signatories of members,” the letter read.
But speaking to journalists after plenary on Wednesday, Sani urged the embattled lawmaker to come out clean on how the money was spent.
His words: “Abdullahi Adamu is a distinguished senator and an elder statesman. There are some things that some of my colleagues cannot say but I am not used to holding back what is the truth. When we resumed as senators, Senator Ahmad Lawan tendered the sum of 70 million naira to the 8th Senate that is, that 70 million naira was monies gathered by Northern Senators from the 7th Senate. So it was handed over to the 8th senators from Northern Nigeria under the 8th Senate.
“The rumours going round whether it is true but I believe most of the senators know is the fact there were allegations that some monkeys raided the farm house of some of the executives in Northern Senators Forum and carted away some of these monies.
“I think this country is becoming a huge joke, first of all it was the rodent that drove away the president and we now have snakes consuming about N36 million, and you now you have monkeys”.
When National Assembly correspondents besieged the office of Adamu to respond to the allegations, he declined comments.
BusinessDay gathered that the lawmaker’s removal may not be unconnected with his opposition to the adoption of the Electoral Act by the Senate last week.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
