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The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Monday categorically stated that it did not offer members of the House of Representatives or their leadership any monetary grant in respect of the Control of Infectious Disease Bill, 2020.
Country Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Paulin Basinga said this while appearing before the House Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the bribery allegation levelled against the House by the spokesman of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP).
Mr Basinga said his organization has always adhered strictly to professionalism in its dealings with other organizations in Nigeria.
“Any such allegations are entirely false and without merit. To be clear, the Foundation has not offered any financial incentives to any member of Nigeria’s legislative branch for the passage of legislation nor has it offered any grants to organizations in Nigeria in connection with the same.
“The Foundation adheres to strict ethical and legal guidelines across all areas of its operations. What drives the Foundation’s work is the simple and compelling belief that all lives have equal value and that everyone deserves to lead a healthy productive life,” Mr Basinga said.
Meanwhile, the House had given the CUPP Spokesman till Thursday, 21 May to appear before it or send a presentation to it on the bribery allegation he made against it or the panel would be left with no option than to conclude its work without his input and submit its report to the House.
The chairman of the investigative panel, Henry Nwawuba maintained that though he was just seeing the purported court papers for the first time at the hearing, the panel would not entertain any submission on behalf of the Spokesman or CUPP.
“What you are trying to do is to thwart the process of this investigation to determine the veracity or otherwise of the allegation by CUPP Spokesman, that was an ambush and that is unacceptable.
“We give your client till Thursday to appear before the Committee or communicate through a presentation. Failure to do that, we will do our job, conclude the investigation and present our report to the House,” Nwawuba said.
The chairman also urged media houses to continue to partner with the Legislature in its effort to move the nation forward, while adding that thorough verification of issues should always be carried out before publication to avoid unnecessary clashes.