Senators Gang Up Against Ministerial Nominee!

Sen. Obanikoro

As the Senate gets set for the confirmatory hearing of 12 ministerial-nominees, there were feelers at the weekend of a gang-up against seven of them. Last month, President Goodluck Jonathan forwarded 12 ministerial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation.

They include Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos), Aminu Wali and Mrs. Jemila Salik (Kano), Mrs. Laurentia Laraba Mallam (Kaduna), Mrs. Eyakenyi Akon (Akwa Ibom), Hon. Mohammed Wakil (Borno), Abdul Jelili Oyewale Adesiyan (Osun) and Tamuno Danagogo (Rivers).

Others are General Aliyu Gusau (Zamfara), former governor of Adamawa State, Mr. Boni Haruna; Dr. Khaliru Alhassan (Sokoto) and Asabe Asmau Ahmed (Niger).

It was gathered at the weekend that the three senators from Lagos State were resolute in their opposition to Senator Obanikoro’s nomination.

A source stated that they plan to wait until when the question is put for confirmation, “knowing that there’s no way they can stop his appearance in the chamber.”

The parliamentary convention is that any former federal lawmaker, who is nominated for appointment by the President, is accorded the ‘bow and go’ treatment. Obanikoro, who was in the Fifth Senate, qualifies for the ‘bow and go’ treatment.

It was also gathered that senators opposed to some of the nominees vowed to resuscitate the convention, “which mandates a nominee to secure the backing of at least two senators from his state before he or she could be confirmed.”

Besides, the three senators from Osun have also shunned the nominee from the state, while two from Niger State have already rejected the nomination of the Niger candidate. Two senators from Rivers have also indicated their rejection of the nominee from the state, while two senators from Adamawa said they would not accept the nominee.

A senator stated that the lawmakers had allegedly approached Senate President David Mark “on the need to preserve the convention since it could be anybody’s turn another time.”

The senators were worried that if the convention was waived this time, the lawmakers would have thrown away, “the only weapon that makes us relevant in the screening process as governors can in the future, through the President, nominate anyone they like for National Assembly confirmation.”

Meanwhile, security reports on the ministerial nominees are ready and have been received in the Senate, setting the tone for the confirmatory hearing to commence this week.