Ahead of the Tuesday’s screening of the last 16 ministerial nominees, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senators have insisted that the Upper House must comply with its Standing Rules by allowing debate on the report of the Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions Committee on Mr. Rotimi Amaechi before his confirmation.
Former Spokesman of the Senate, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said that the PDP resolved not to participate in the screening of Amaechi because of the pending report. He stated that the Senate would consider the report before getting to the point where Amaechi will be confirmed as a minister.
“The agreement is that there will be a discussion on the report before; so, there will definitely be a discussion on that. I don’t think that the Senate will confirm Amaechi without considering the report,” Abaribe said.
Another PDP Senator, Sonni Ogbuoji, said that as far as the PDP was concerned, Amaechi was never screened. He said that the PDP chose to be calm in order to show maturity to the ruling party, as well as Nigerians, regretting the utterances of the Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, who earlier said that the Senate belonged to the APC alone, and that the PDP would only have its say while the ruling party had its way.
Ndume had, in response to the Point of Order raised by the Senate Amaechi: Senate must comply with Standing Rules, PDP lawmakers insist Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, said that if the PDP would not ask Amaechi questions, then the All Progressives Congress (APC) might ask the nominee to take a bow and go.
Ndume said that Amaechi, having been a Speaker for eight years and a Governor for another eight years, had proven his competence and could be asked to take bow and go, as is the tradition for former members of the National Assembly.
Ogbuoji said: “As far as the PDP is concerned, there was no time Amaechi was screened. Protesting would have amounted to immaturity; so we decided to be mature about the whole thing. I will not say anything about his confirmation because Amaechi has not come for screening.”
An APC Senator, Sabi Abdullahi, who endorsed the clamour for debate on the report before the confirmation of the former Rivers State governor (Amaechi), whose nomination as minister by President Muhammadu Buhari has overheated the polity, argued that the Senate had not breached any rule.
On Thursday last week, the Senate screened Amaechi but deferred his confirmation until tomorrow. Senator Abdullahi however told The AUTHORITY that the Senate did not consider the report because it was just laid on the floor and copies of it had not been circulated to members to enable them study it and make meaningful contributions to it.
He said that the Senate, in screening Amaechi when the report had not been deliberated upon, still fell within the legislative procedure of the chamber.
Abdullahi, who represents Niger North Senatorial District, said that the APC lawmakers and their PDP counterparts are not divided on the matter because they were elected for the common purpose of legislating for the good governance of Nigeria.
He said: “There was no way the Senate could have considered the report that day because the chairman of the committee that handled the petition just laid the report before the Senate and members did not have copies.
So, Senators needed to have copies, go through it, so that they can make useful contribution when it will be considered
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