The Senate has postponed plenary till Thursday to enable Senate President Bukola Saraki to appear for trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) today.
Saraki is to appear before CCT in continuation of his trial for alleged falsification of assets declaration preferred against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau.
The acting Clerk of the Senate Nelson Ayewoh, did not give any reason for postponement of plenary today in a statement, but feelers from the leadership of the Senate lent credence to the fact that Saraki may have caused the rescheduling of plenary session as a result of his expected appearance before the CCT today, along with many other supporting senators.
Ayewoh’s statement reads: “This is to inform all distinguished senators that the resumption of the Senate in plenary has been rescheduled from Wednesday, October 21, 2015, to Thursday October 22, 2015.”
With the postponement, the Senate will continue the screening of the remaining 16 ministerial nominees Thursday.
Ministerial Screening: APC, PDP Senators on war path
Senators in both the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are poised for a showdown after the latter declared their opposition to the confirmation of former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, as a ministerial nominee.
Members of the Senate PDP caucus Wednesday vowed not to support Amaechi’s nomination as a minister.
Speaking after a closed-door caucus meeting of PDP senators held after the plenary, a senator who spoke on condition of anonymity said they were set “for war with members of the All Progressives Congress (APC)” over Amaechi’s confirmation.
He said PDP senators hinged their opposition to Amaechi on the constitutional requirement which stipulates that no nominee indicted by any panel should be confirmed a minister.
In fact, one of the two ministerial nominees screened yesterday, Shittu Adebayo, had reportedly been indicted by a panel for religious intolerance. He, however, denied any complicity.
Politics is a game of numbers, APC is in charge – Dino Melaye
However, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi) dismissed the threat of the PDP senators, saying that APC had the numbers to decide Amaechi’s fate as his party is in charge.
“Politics is a game of numbers. We are in charge,” Melaye said.
Till Thursday, the much-awaited screening of the former governor of Rivers State Rotimi Amaechi, again failed to hold at the Senate a week after the exercise began.
Of the first set of ministerial nominees sent by President Muhammadu Buhari on September 30 for Senate screening and confirmation, only Amaechi is yet to be screened.
The other person left from the list, Adebayo Shittu from Oyo State, went through the screening process during plenary alongside Khadijat Bukar Ibrahim (Yobe State), whose name was on the second list.
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions failed to submit its report on the investigation of allegations against Amaechi to the House.
In an unusual occurrence, two Order Papers were published. One contained Amaechi’s name as one of those to be screened, the submission of the report of the Ethics and Privileges report on allegations against Amaechi and an exoneration of the nominee from Sokoto State was withdrawn and replaced with one without that information.
“Similarly, ministerial nominees that were slated to appear before the Senate for screening included Mr. Adebayo Shittu (Oyo), Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa), Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Khadija Abba Ibrahim (Yobe), Hon. Bawa Bwari (Niger), Mr. Ocholi Enojo James (Kogi), Mr. Mansur Muhammed (Zamfara) and Zainab Ahmed (Kaduna).
However, in the new Order Paper, only three names were listed: Mr. Adebayo Shittu (Oyo), Mrs Khadija Abba Ibrahim (Yobe) and Mr. Claudius Omoleye Daramola (Ondo). Daramola’s screening was deferred to the next legislative day (Thursday).
Senate receives 10 petitions against Imo nominee
Meanwhile, the Senate on Wednesday received over 10 petitions against the ministerial nominee from Imo State, Professor Anthony Anwuka, through Senator Nneji Achonu Athanasius (PDP, Imo North). No name was given as the sponsors of the petitions.
The petitions were referred to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions by Senate President Saraki, who mandated the committee to submit its report for consideration during the next sitting.
However, the chairman of the committee, Senator Samuel Anyanwu (PDP, Imo West), pleaded for extension of time for submission and promised to lay the report before the Senate on Thursday for consideration.
Earlier on Wednesday, some pro-Amaechi protesters asked the Senate to look beyond “frivolous petitions” and confirm him as minister.
Saying he had done well in his last assignment as governor, they listed some of the projects the former governor executed in Rivers State, and contended that he would bring such quality of leadership to the Federal level.
They called those opposed to Amaechi’s confirmation enemies of Nigeria.
I’m not a religious extremist – Shittu
The first ministerial nominee screened by the senators on Wednesday, Adebayo Shittu, has rejected a gazette entry that indicted him for religious extremism.
According to him, the commission that allegedly indicted him never gave him a fair hearing.
Responding to a question raised by Sen Enyinnaya Abaribe about whether he was indicted by a panel years ago for religious intolerance, Shittu answered, “I have never been indicted by any commission of enquiry for religious extremism.
“I only got to see the gazette recently. The list of those indicted are in the gazette. I was never invited by the commission, so I cannot be said to have been indicted. I want to assure senators that I have not been indicted. I am a social mixer.”
The floor took a more relaxed tone when Khadijat Bukar Ibrahim was called for her screening.
Her husband, a former governor and now a serving senator, who was invited by the Senate President to pose a question, asked her how she “would feel if she is asked to just take a bow and leave.”
This threw the chamber into raucous laughter. Thereafter, they told her to take a bow and go.
The screening process is expected to continue Thursday.
-Leadership