PDP lawmakers stage walkout as Senate confirms Amaechi

The Senate, Thursday, confirmed the nomination of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi and 17 other ministerial nominees, an action that has signaled the end to weeks the Red Chamber has spent on the process.

The confirmation of Amaechi was however not without stiff opposition from Senators elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The PDP Senators, who staged a walk out of the chamber after it became apparent that their colleagues from the ruling party, APC, were bent on confirming Amaechi, insisted on relying on the report of the Senate’s public petition committee, which failed to recommend his confirmation

Those confirmed along with Amaechi include Barrister Adebayo Shittu, Ahmed Musa Bello, Brigadier-General Dan Ali (Rtd) Prof. Isaac Adewole, James Ocholi (SAN), Anthony Anwuka and Okechukwu Enelamah.

Others are Claudius Omoyele Daramola, Aisha Abubakar, Adamu Adamu, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and Jeffery Onyeama.

Also confirmed as ministers are Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Abubakar Bawa, Pastor Usani Usani Uguru, Abubakar Bwari Bawa and Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed

Read also:  Senate screens, confirms new INEC boss

The confirmation process earlier ran into a hitch when it came to the turn of Amaechi, as PDP Senators insisted that the report of the Senate committee on public petition be looked into and debated before Amaechi could be considered for confirmation.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, called on the Chairman of the committee, Senator Sam Anyanwu to report to the Senate what the committee decided upon. This however turned proceedings into a rancorous one as the committee report recommended that the Senate withholds Amaechi’s confirmation to the consternation of APC Senators who were bent on confirming the nominee.

The Senate chamber however became rowdy as tempers rose while Senators made contributions to the debate, Senator George Sekai from Rivers State questioned the readiness of supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari to support the anti-corruption fight of the President  with the refusal of the APC Senators to accept the recommendations of the Senate Ad hoc committee on public petitions.

Obviously sensing that APC Senators were bent on confirming Amaechi, PDP Senators, staged a walk out of the chamber leaving Senators of the ruling party a field day in rejecting the committee’s recommendation and confirming the former governor as a minister of the Federal Republic.

 

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