The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria (COCSON) on Thursday in Abuja appealed to the National Assembly to always ensure proper investigation of allegations against persons or agencies before passing verdict.
Mr Yemi Success, General Secretary of the coalition, made the appeal at a news conference.
He was reacting to allegation by the National Assembly that the North East Development Commission (NEDC) misappropriated N100 billion whereas its committee which carried out an investigation exonerated the commission.
Success said the coalition viewed the allegation as unnecessary and a total distraction.
He, therefore, stressed that the National Assembly should always ensure due diligence in its investigations, knowing full well that discussions on the floor of the house were always in the media.
This, he said, was critical because some people would only have opportunity to hear the allegations without hearing the findings, adding that this would be dangerous for collective integrity.
“We actually embarked on a fact finding mission as we were surprised about the allegations, knowing full well that the sincere Development of North East Nigeria is very important.
“Our findings showed that the allegation is unfounded, unnecessary and a total distraction.
“Coincidentally, the report of the National Assembly committee that also investigated the allegation concluded that the allegation is not true,’’ he said.
Success said COCSON serves as the voice of the voiceless, standing firm against every form of oppression of any Nigerians anywhere, irrespective of gender, religion or any other background.
He said that the coalition also advocates for good governance as the best way to curb most of the country`s challenges.
The coalition general secretary added that the management of NEDC under the leadership of Mohammed Alkali was focused and committed to the task of bringing total development to the North East.
He added that there was, however, need for the Federal Government to adequately fund the commission to enable it to effectively discharge its responsibilities.(NAN)
