The Senate has set conditions that
President Muhammadu Buhari’s
nominees must fulfil before they are
confirmed ministers during plenary on
Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
The conditions at an executive session
that lasted about two hours yesterday.
Senate spokesperson Dino Melaye, who
announced the guidelines, said the upper
chamber would be “guided by the 1999
Constitution, extant laws of the country,
practice and conventions of the Senate.”
He said, in line with that convention,
senators had agreed that for a nominee
to be cleared as a minister, at least two
senators from his state must support his
nomination.
“It’s a convention by the Senate, and we
have decided to uphold that convention
in the sanctity of the integrity of the
Senate,” he said.
President Buhari’s party, the APC, has no
senators in at least 12 states -11 states
in the South-East and the South-South as
well as Plateau State.
This requirement has therefore handed
absolute powers to the opposition PDP
to decide who becomes a minister in
President Buhari’s cabinet from those
states.
Reacting, however, Senator Melaye
dispelled the suggestion that the criteria
were targeted at specific nominees.
“Getting the support of two senators is
just one of the conditions adopted at the
closed door session and it is not that we
are targeting any of the nominees. This
condition has been there, it is not a new
one,” Melaye said.
When contacted, the Senior Special
Assistant to the President on National
Assembly (Senate), Senator Ita Enang
said he would address the press on the
criteria set by the Senate.
Senator Melaye also said the nominees
are required to present evidence of
declaration of assets from the Code of
Conduct Bureau before they would be
cleared.
He added that nominees must also
possess the qualifications prescribed for
those aspiring to run for election into
the House of Representatives.
Senator Melaye said former lawmakers
among the nominees would be given
special consideration by being the first
to be screened before the others.
“They will be given special consideration
but that does not say they will take a
bow and go as previously done. During
the session, we also resolved that we are
not going to be political or regional, the
Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be our
ultimate interest,” he added.
He said the nominees are expected to
send 115 copies of their Curriculum
Vitaes (CVs) on or before 12th of this
month.
After the session, Saraki directed the
Ethics Committee, headed by Senator
Samuel Anyanwu, to conclude work on
the petitions against former Rivers State
Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Mrs.
Amina Ibrahim before Tuesday.
President Buhari has submitted names
of 21 nominees and their confirmation
hearing opens on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, nine of the nominees were at
the National Assembly yesterday to
submit their CVs.
They are Senator Chris Ngige (Anambra
state), Dr. Ogbonaya Onu, Lt. Gen.
Abdulrahman Dambazau (Kano State),
Audu Ogbeh(Benue State), Senator
Udoma Udo Udoma(Akwa Ibom),
Engineer Suleiman Adamu (Jigawa), Dr.
Osagie Ehanire (Edo), Ibrahim Usman
Jibril (Nasarawa) and Senator Hadi Sirika.
They submitted the CVs to the office of
the Senior Special Assistant to the
President on National Assembly (Senate),
Senator Ita Enang.

http://www.theheraldng.com/ministerial-nominees-must-be-cleared-by-senators-from-home-state-senate/

We dey wait....

OK.

Okay