Politics

Senate shifts ground on ministerial screening

Published

9 years ago

October 11, 2015

Saraki: More revelations as power outage forces CCT to adjourn

Though the Nigerian Senate had previously projected a tough stance on the screening of ministers scheduled to hold on Tuesday, indications suggest that it may have softened its posture on the process of approval of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial hopefuls.
Tension had been created owing to petitions against some of the nominees and the Senate’s traditional rule which demands that at least two senators from a nominee’s state of origin must endorse his nomination.
But the tension was doused on Sunday as the Senate via its Twitter handle @NGRSenate disclosed that the traditional rule where two Senators must endorse a ministerial nominee may be waived if a nominee passes other criteria of the screening hurdles.
It said: “The tradition of two Senators having to endorse a ministerial nominee is not sacrosanct and can be waived if a nominee passes other criteria.”
The Senate also urged Nigerians who have questions they would like Senators to ask during the screening on Tuesday, to send them on Twitter to the Senate handle, @NGRSenate using the hashtag #MinisterialScreening.
If this revelation by the upper legislative arm is anything to go by, nominees such as former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and Amina Mohammed, a former special assistant on Millennium Development Goals, who membership in Buhari’s ministerial list had been fraught with petitions from their respective states, including their Senators, may now heave sighs of relief.
For Amaechi, his membership on the Buhari list renewed his legendary cat and mouse relationship with his former Chief of Staff, Nyesom Wike who is now governor of his state.
For Amina Mohammed, her petitioners, a Kaduna-based non-governmental organization, Centrum Initiative for Development and Fundamental Rights Initiative, including Senator Danuma La’ah, hinged their opposition on the fact that her state of birth, is Gombe and not Kaduna where she was said to have been nominated from.
As the Senate Committee investigating the petitions against the nominees is expected to submit its report before the screening starts on Tuesday, political observers have kept their fingers crossed, on how this one would pass.
Also, the Senate President , Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Saturday said the screening of the ministerial-nominees by the Senate would not be business as usual.
Saraki who led a six man delegation to the Ikenne home of late Premier of Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo over the death of the matriarch of the family, HID Awolowo, described her death as a great loss.
Saraki who was accompanied by Senators Sheu Sanni (Kaduna) Monsurat Sunmonu (Oyo) , Biodun Olujimi (Ekiti) , Gbolahan Dada (Ogun) and Lanre Tejuoso (Ogun) said she decided to lead the delegation because of the respectable he has for the Awolowo family.

While fielding questions from newsmen on the expectation of Nigerians on the screening of the ministerial nominees, Saraki assured that the constitution would be followed to the latter.
He said “We have said that for the eight Senate, it is not going to be business as usual, what I can assure you is that we will go with the constitution, the rules, we will put Nigeria first, screening will be done with level of seriousness and what we are all about is our constitutional responsibility to ensure that we find people who are fit enough to be Ministers and particularly this time, to give President Buhari the support he requires.
“It is not about who you like or who you don’t like and I want to assure Nigerian that, that will not be the basis, it will be based on the constitution and based on ability and our own assessment of capacity of the nominees to perform.
“And I assure you that individual differences would not be an issue at all, and we have spoken with Senators and told them that. At this moment of time, we have made sure that as much as possible, we share with the public, we try to ensure that all will be covered live so that everybody can see, we will not be screening from our bedrooms and sitting rooms as well along with the Senators, you’re rest assured that we will do a good job Nigerians would be proud of”

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