Special report… Ministerial screening: How Senate dashed our hopes

In from Timothy Enietan-Matthews (Nation’s capital) … .

The much expected screening of the ministerial nominees of President Muhammadu Buhari kicked off in earnest yesterday with the screening of 10 of the first batch of nominees sent to the Senate.

President Buhari had sent a first batch of 21 names to the Senate on the 30th of September, beating his self appointed September deadline and just Monday, sent the second list of 15 names believed to be the last batch.

Nigerians had earnestly waited for the much anticipated screening by the Senate, hoping that the Senate will do the needful and do a thorough job in one of the most important constitutional responsibilities the Red Chamber of the National Assembly is saddled with.

There were high expectations and hopes that things will not go the way it had always gone in the past. Hopes were high because of the sheer length of time it took the President to assemble those he thinks he can work with and the grandstanding promises the Senators had made that it would not be business as usual.

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Senate Leader, Ali Ndume and spokesman, Dino Melaye, had inundated Nigerians of their determination to ensure that the screening process is not business as usual. In fact, Melaye had told Nigerians that they will question the moral standing of the nominees and ensure that only the best among them scale through the screening and confirmation process.

However, the first tranche of screening, as conducted by the Senate on Tuesday, fell short of their promises and vow. The screening, was at best, a continuation of business as usual and even a further trivialisation of an important constitutional exercise.

Those who monitored the screening at the Senate gallery or through its live transition on television or live streaming on the web, would agree that what transpired was nothing close to diligent scrutiny of the credentials or past records of the nominees.

The only time a nominee was asked what seemed a critical question, was when Senate Chief Whip, Sola Adeyeye asked Dr. Kayode Fayemi a question on his stewardship as governor of Ekiti State in relations to the huge debt profile he was alleged to have left behind. This was however dismissed by Senator Shehu Sanni from Kaduna State as a public relations question aimed at giving him the opportunity of coming out clean.

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Instead of probing the credentials and past activities of Senators, the lawmakers behaved like school children who were intimidated by the résumé of the nominees, as they kept referring to their CVs as impressive and intimidating.

In other climes, the lawmakers would have taken time to research the backgrounds of the nominees and jolt them with questions that would have taken them off balance in a bid to ensure that nothing dark about the nominees escaped their scrutiny.

It was also observed at the screening that the vow of not allowing a “bow and go “practice was jettisoned on the altar of partisan politics and other non-important considerations. This is nothing but a dis-service to the Nigerian people who hoped things could be done differently this time around.

Also disheartening is the way the screening exercise was turned into a comedy circus show by the Senators, especially the Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio. A serious constitutional responsibility like ministerial screening should have been handled with greater seriousness and approach by the lawmakers but it is unfortunate that the reverse was the case.

It is however hoped that the lawmakers will review their approach and correct the impression already created in the minds of Nigerians, if they must be taken seriously and seen as an improved version of the 7th

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