The confirmation of the former governor of Rivers State Rotimi Amaechi, has enabled senators of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) to unite and speak with one voice for the first time after the acrimonious election of the Senate leadership.
After much drama, the Senate finally confirmed Amaechi, whose nomination and confirmation request by President Muhammadu Buhari had been trailed with controversy over unproved petitions of fraud and other financial offences.
Also, 17 other nominees, including Aisha Abubakar, Prof Anwuka Okechukwu and Adebayo Shittu, who also had petitions against them, had their nominations confirmed.
Others are Khadijat Bukar Ibrahim, Sen Heineken Lokpobiri, Daramola Claudius, Baba Mustapha, Ocholi James, Folorunsho Isaac Adewole, Hon Bawa Bwari, Jeoffrey Onyeama, Zainab Ahmed, Mansur Mohammed, Usani Usani Uguru, Dr Okechukwu Onyeama, Mohammed Musa Bello, Adamu Adamu and Hajia Aisha Abubakar.
The tension-filled confirmation exercise commenced late afternoon after the legislators concluded the screening and confirmation of five commissioners and chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and finished a closed-door meeting.
After moving for the confirmation and getting approval for all 17 ministerial nominees, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, asked the chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges to present his report on petitions against Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
After going through the report, the chairman of the committee, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu (PDP, Imo), said the committee had come to the conclusion that the nomination of Amaechi as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be rejected for being at variance with the rules of the Senate which says it must stay away from cases in court.
“Following the discovery that the matter before the Senate is already in a competent court of law, we are unable to recommend the confirmation; we recommend that the confirmation be suspended..”, he said. The report was signed by 7 of 11 members.
Rising on Order 53 (7), Senate leader Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC, Borno), moved that since the report said the case was in court, the Senate should suspend the report.
“Since the Senate will not work contrary to the court, I move that we should suspend any further action on the report”, he stated but his request was greeted with opposition.
Leader of the opposition in the Senate, Godswill Akpabio (PDP, Akwa Ibom), thereafter contended that since the report had been made available to the senators, the PDP caucus had decided to now contribute to the nomination and confirmation process of Amaechi.
“Because of the maturity of the Senate and sanctity of this Senate, you will recall that when the nominee appeared before us, I stood up and said we will only make comment when the report before us is formally presented.
“I move, in line with the agreement that was made, that the Senate allows us to make proper discussion on the report that was just laid”, he said.
After Senate President Saraki ruled that “as we already agreed, the comments that are going to be contributed will be contributed, then we will go back to the motion (Ndume’s)”, Senator George Sekibo (PDP, Rivers East), who presented the petition against Amaechi, requested the Senate to reject the nomination and confirmation of Amaechi.
Sekibo said, “We represent our people, and the Nigerian people we represent are the majority, too. The majority is not APC, the majority are the Nigerian people. The true judges are the Nigerian people. Those who are the real evaluators and judges are the Nigerian people.
“There are allegations of corruption, sale of government assets, allegations of fraud and, more importantly, the committee has done its work and has come with the report. Mr Senate President, there is no way any person here can amend a committee’s report;, it is not a motion. There is no way a senator will read from the recommendation, and convert it and ask that it should be the recommendation. The Senate leader’s recommendation is not in our books.
“If we encourage corruption when Mr President is fighting against corruption, then we are not going to be helping President Buhari to fight corruption.”
This position was countered by Prof Olajide Omowoware (APC, Osun), who argued that any recommendation can be amended in the committee of the whole.
He added that the section of the Constitution which the committee is relying on – that anyone who has been indicted by a judicial panel of enquiry or government White Paper – does not apply anymore since it was expunged in the 4th alteration of the constitution done by the 6th Assembly.
He added that the Constitution supersedes the rules of the National Assembly, while citing section 66 of the Constitution that the Senate shall not receive any petition on which a judicial decision is pending and another section that states that reference shall not be made on any judicial decision that is pending in such a way that the matter will be prejudiced.
“The committee should have told us that we have an obligation in the Constitution; that we should not interfere with the case that is before a competent court,” the Senator stated.
“If the Constitution is at variance with the rules, the Constitution will prevail. Even looking at the report, it says in recommendation that since the ministerial nominee has gone to the Court of Appeal to contest the decision of the court, we cannot decide on it.”
Omowoware argued further that “in view of the fact that what is being relied upon is no longer a part of our Constitution – as it has been expunged by the 4th alteration of the 6th assembly – I hereby second the submission of the leader.”
His position was supported by Saraki who noted that the report of the committee was silent on the constitutional provision that was amended and one could only assume that the reason they were silent on that was because they concurred.
Responding, Sen Anyanwu said: “It is because the Senate cannot work against its extant rules to entertain any matter within the courts that they (the Senate) can’t even start with process of the nomination of the nominee.”
Speaking in support of Anyanwu, Senator Biodun Olujimi (PDP, Ekiti) warned that the Senate must not act in a way that will portray it as supporting corruption.
“From all indications, we are being shut out. There is a moral burden on not only this Senate but President Buhari that he is riding on a crest of corruption.
“There is a need to ensure that the court of law absolves him before we can confirm him in this Senate. I am insisting that the court of law clears him before this Senate clears him. The majority will have its way but Nigerians will know that this government is not ready to fight corruption.”
At this point, the session became rowdy and the PDP senators walked out of the chambers and subsequently addressed the press on their grievances.
Meanwhile, at the chamber, the process continued as Senator Barnabas Gemade (APC, Benue) moved for the rejection of the committee’s report, and for the confirmation of Amaechi.
“They believe their say has been truly said and now it is for the majority to have their way because democracy is about the majority. The chairman should put the question of the approval of the candidate, and, after that, put the question for confirmation,” he said.
Saraki then put the question that the report be rejected and, after getting the ayes, put the question that Amaechi be confirmed, which was also carried by the senators.
In the twilight of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, his request for the confirmation of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro also met opposition from members of the then opposition All Progressives Congress who queried the role he played in the governorship elections in Osun State, where it was alleged that he used military men under his power as the minister of state for defence to the advantage of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Meanwhile, APC said Thursday that the confirmation of all the ministerial nominees by the Senate, despite some misgivings by the opposition, showed clearly that there is no longer any division within the APC family.
‘’The cohesion and unity exhibited by APC senators on Thursday has shown that our legislators are ready to work with the executive and the party to ensure that the agenda of the party are implemented for the benefit of all Nigerians,’’ the party said in a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
‘’We commend all our members and leaders in the Senate and indeed the leadership of the APC for this show of unity,’’ it said.
APC said democracy was clearly at work in the Senate despite the decision of the senators of the opposition PDP to stage a walkout over the confirmation of former Rivers State governor. Chibuike Amaechi.
‘’It is part of democracy that while the minority can have their say, the majority will have their way. Therefore, the decision of the PDP senators to walk out is nothing but democracy in action,’’ the party said.
It enjoined the entire National Assembly to continue to work with the executive arm of government in the overall interest of Nigeria and its people.
‘’With the stage now set for the federal cabinet to be in place, we implore all Nigerians, irrespective of their party affiliation, to support President Muhammadu Buhari in his onerous task of making Nigeria great again,’’ APC said.
Senate Confirms INEC Chairman, Commissioners
The Senate has screened and confirmed Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Five other INEC commissioners were confirmed alongside Mahmood.
The commissioners representing the nation’s geopolitical zones are the former acting chairman of INEC, Hajiya Amina Bala Zakari (North-West); Dr. (Mrs.) Antonia Taiye Okoosi (North-Central); Alhaji Baba Shettima Arfo (North-East); Dr. Mohammed Mustapha (South-South) and Mr. Soyebi Adedeji Solomon (South-West).
President Muhammadu Buhari last week sent a letter to the Senate conveying the names and requesting senators to confirm the nominees for the electoral umpire.
Making his submission before the Senate, Yakubu advocated the use of electronic voting in Nigeria but advised Nigerians not to be in a hurry to introduce it into the electoral process.
“It is desirable and inevitable that one day we have to go into electronic voting, but we have to be very careful, as reflected in other countries. We need to think through it before we adopt it. We cannot rush into it,” he advised.
Responding to a question on the importance of card readers in the electoral process in Nigeria, Yakubu said it was still new and expressed optimism that it would serve Nigerians better in 2019.
He also told the committee that top on his list of his priorities is to ensure that the 12.3 million permanent voter cards (PVCs) that were not collected prior to the 2015 general elections are collected ahead of the 2019 polls.
Going further, he assured the lawmakers that electoral fraud and offences would be brought to a minimum under his watch, stating that “never again would elections be conducted and won at the INEC headquarters.”
-Leadership