The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has warned that he would no longer condone efforts by some individuals to blackmail him and tarnish the image of the Senate and its leadership.

The lawmaker gave the warning while reacting to a purported petition against him.

Speaking via a statement by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, Bamidele condemned recent efforts to undermine public trust in the National Assembly, stating that he will take legal action against blackmailers.

The statement noted that the latest incident involves a petition allegedly addressed to the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN).

The petition, purportedly signed by David Udoh, Convener of Public Procurement Transparency Group, accuses Bamidele of pressuring the Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Abubakar, to award contracts to companies linked to the Senator, in violation of the Public Procurement Act of 2007.

The Senate Leader’s office swiftly dismissed the allegations as baseless and unsupported by any credible evidence.

Also, REA issued a statement refuting the claims, asserting that its management had never been pressured to compromise the integrity of its procurement process.

REA emphasised its commitment to transparency, fairness, and adherence to due process in all its activities.

The statement reads partly, “Preliminary investigations revealed that the Public Procurement Transparency Group is not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission and that its Convener, David Udoh, is untraceable, with a non-functional phone contact.

“Additionally, it was confirmed that no petition had been submitted to the ICPC by the group.

“We have endured enough of these baseless accusations and will no longer tolerate such infractions.

“Henceforth, we shall address these issues within the confines of the law, and anyone found culpable will face the full wrath of the law.”