The Senate has risen to save the necks of the like of the former Rivers state governor, Chief Rotimi Amaechi and other ministerial nominees from Senators in their constituencies, as it has indicated that the earlier condition that at least two senators from the state of each nominee must endorse him or her would no longer be strictly considered for senate approval.
This is coming against the background of the determination by the three Senators from Rivers state, all of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stop former governor Amaechi from becoming a minister following alleged petitions they presented before the senate.
In its Twitter handle @NGRSenate today, the Senate said 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.
“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 called on 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.
Amaechi and Amina Mohammed, a former special assistant on Millennium Development Goals, whose membership in Buhari’s ministerial list has 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, who is now Rivers state governor, Chief Nyesom Wike.
A PDP Senator from Rivers State, Senator George Sekibo (Rivers East) had last week said that the Senate Rules reduces Amaechi’s chances and that the petition by a group called Integrity Group, was weighty on allegations of misappropriation of funds to the tune of N70 billion against the former governor.
In an interaction with journalists in Abuja, Sekibo disclosed that “now that the Senate has received the petition, I have laid it on the floor; it has been referred to public petition and I know the Committee will come out with appropriate recommendations.”
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.
Senator La’ah contended that since Amina hails from Gombe State, but married to a Kaduna husband, her appointment infringes on section 147 of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that a ministerial nominee must be an indigene of the state presenting him/her.
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.
This is happening even as Senators from Rivers State have insisted that they would oppose the nomination of Rotimi Amaechi. Senator George Sekibo, representing Rivers-East Senatorial District, Senator said that the petition against the ex-governor was “supported by the three senators from the state.”
He said that they would insist on the report of the Senate committee on public petitions currently investigating allegations against Amaechi before he could be cleared by the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
This was as Amaechi, has challenged governor Nyesom Wike, to go to court over the recommendations of the Justice George Omereji-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the sales of valued assets belonging to the state by the last administration.
Amaechi said in a statement issued from his Media Office yesterday that rather than engage in theatrics and ‘childish’ tantrums, Wike should prosecute him if there was any case of corruption against him.
The state government had on Friday, while briefing journalists, declared that the commission of inquiry had indicted Amaechi and asked the ex-governor and others to return the sum of N97bn belonging to the state.
The government also directed its Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Chinwe Aguma (SAN) to begin a process of prosecuting Amaechi and others indicted by the panel should they fail to return the said sum.
But Amaechi specifically stated that from the way the panel conducted its probe, it was obvious that Wike established it (panel) with a mission to indict him, maintaining that the outcome of the Omereji commission was not surprising to him.
“Indeed, the Wike panel was an inquisition against Amaechi. Wike should go to court if he has any case of alleged corrupt activities against Amaechi. His panel is not and can never be a law court.
“Wike’s regular childish tantrums, theatrics, comedy and drama of screaming huge bogus and phantom figures of missing or stolen or misappropriated billions of naira by the Amaechi-led administration have become a silly and sickening distraction.” [myad]
