Gololo was alleged to have sexually assaulted a housekeeper in his hotel room while Gbillah and another lawmaker, Samuel Ikon (Akwa Ibom) were accused of soliciting prostitutes.
Two members of the House of Representatives, Mohammed Garba Gololo (Bauchi) and Mark Gbillah (Benue) have denied allegations of improper conduct levelled against them by United States Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle.
Gololo was alleged to have sexually assaulted a housekeeper in his hotel room while Gbillah and another lawmaker, Samuel Ikon (Akwa Ibom) were accused of soliciting prostitutes.
According to New Telegraph, Entwistle reported the matter to House of Reps Speaker, Yakubu Dogara via a letter dated June 9, 2016.
“This
is an affront on the National Assembly and Nigeria, it appears they
have ulterior motives. We are not going to take this lightly; we will
take legal actions against the US government. It is a dent on our
image,” Gbillah said in response to the claims.
“I
went on the trip with my wife and baby and insisted that she stayed
with me, but they told me the accommodation was meant for only
participants…I saw the ambassador (Entwistle) and went to greet him and
he told me how a few of us tarnished the image of the House. I advised
him to make it formal so that we can know who was involved and what
actually happened.
“It was after this
encounter that they called us to their premises and said they were
identified by their accusers in a group picture. This is curious. No
video footage. They didn’t accost us while we were in US. We suspect
this is a calculated attempt to rubbish the National Assembly.
“We,
the concerned members, have written to the speaker indicating the facts
and demanding footage of our stay in the hotel. We also want them to
provide access to our accusers to identify us. But most importantly, we
would be demanding compensation from the US government for defamation of
character,” he added.
Gololo is also said to have denied the claims via a letter written to Dogara on June 13.
“Let me, from the outset, express my shock and dismay at the contents of the letter generally and particularly affects me,” he wrote according to New Telegraph.
“These
are totally false, unfounded and baseless allegations against me. I
categorically deny any such incident happened, I never grabbed any
housekeeper nor did I solicit for sex. I also take this issue very
seriously not only because I am a honourable member representing a
hallowed institution, but because of my integrity as a husband and
father. How would my family and in-laws react to these wild and grave
allegations?
“I demand an apology and
retraction of these allegations or I shall not hesitate to engage the
services of lawyers and not only to clear my name, but to seek redress
for the damages done to my reputation. I insist that evidence of the
allegations against me be produced,” he added.
Ikon was said to have turned off his phones and as such was not available for comment.
The
three legislators were among ten Nigerians who visited Cleveland, Ohio
on the invitation of the US government to attend the International
Visitor Leadership Program which held between April 7 and 13, 2016.
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