•Amaechi


The Senate seems to be finding ministerial
nominee Rotimi Amaechi’s case a hard nut to
crack.

For the umpteenth time, its Committee on Ethics,
Privileges and Public Petitions could not sit to
consider the petition against him, it was learnt
yesterday.


But the panel chairman, Senator Samuel Anyanwu,
said there was no cause for alarm, dismissing
allegations of a crack in their rank.


The panel, sources said, has been unable to write
its report because it could not form a quorum.


It has not been able to sit in the past three days
despite being asked to hasten action on the
petition by Senate President Bukola Saraki.


On Tuesday, Saraki mandated the committee to
ensure that its report was ready for
consideration on Wednesday.

He asked the committee to speed up after
Anyanwu told the Senate that the report was not
ready.

But the panel submitted its report on another
nominee, Amina Mohammed, who was among the
18 cleared on Wednesday. The panel could still not submit its report on
Amaechi on Wednesday, leading to the dropping of
the former Rivers State governor from the list of
those screened.


The panel consequently scheduled a meeting
for 2pm on Wednesday but only Anyanwu and
Senator Obinna Ogba (Ebonyi Central) turned up. The development has increased talks of a division
among members.


Sources said there was a plot to sabotage
Amaechi’s screening by some interested parties
to orchestrate his withdrawal by President
Muhammadu Buhari. A member of the committee, who did not want his
name mentioned, said: “It seems all is not well in
our committee. Some of us are not happy about
certain things. We cannot just go to a meeting for
going sake. But what is happening is not for the
media please, I beg you.”



Another member said: “No comment. I am not
the spokesman of the committee. Go and meet the
chairman if you want any information about the
Ethics Committee.” But Anyanwu, who is worried about the panel’s
inability to submit its report, said he had carried
every member along. The Imo State-born lawmaker said he had
demonstrated “a high level of openness and
transparency in the affairs of the committee”. He insisted that the committee is not facing a crisis. There was no indication of when the committee
will meet to write its report when the Senate
adjourned plenary yesterday.


Saraki also did not mention the petition against
Amaechi at the session. When Amaechi appeared before the committee on
October 12, the petition against him could not be
considered because of his disclosure that it was a
subject of litigation. The Port Harcourt-based “The Integrity Group”
petitioned the Senate asking that Amaechi should
not be confirmed as a minister. The group claimed that Amaechi mismanaged N70
billion of Rivers State funds when he was in office. Amaechi has long dismissed the claim as part of
the orchestrated campaign to smear him. But the Chairman, Senate Ad-hoc Committee on
Media and Public Affairs, Senator Dino Melaye,
yesterday raised hope of Amaechi’s screening.
He said: “ The committee has a one-line report
that the matter is in court and that in compliance
with our laid down rules and regulations, any case that is undergoing judicial remedy cannot be
discussed.



So, we have distanced ourselves from it. The
report will be presented on Tuesday by the grace
of God. “I assure Nigerians that former Governor Rotimi
Amaechi by the grace of God, will be screened on
Tuesday.” According to him, the screening and confirmation
of the remaining 18 ministerial nominees will
hold on Tuesday and Wednesday. Melaye said: “We are going to screen nine of
them on Tuesday and the remaining nine on
Wednesday. “The confirmation of all the nominees will be
taken on Wednesday.” There is another petition against another nominee
– Mrs Aisha Abubakar from Sokoto State. Senator Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto East) laid the
petition against Mrs. Abubakar on the table for
consideration. The petitioner’s demanding her replacement
with “a more competent person.” The nominee, according to him, hails from the
same local government with Governor Aminu
Waziri Tambuwal. The Senate referred the petition
to its Ethics Committee. Also yesterday, Saraki wrote President
Muhammadu Buhari on the Senate’s confirmation
of 18 nominees who were on the list sent to the
upper chamber on September 30. In a letter sent through Senator Ita Enang, Senior
Special Assistant to the President on legislative
matters (Senate), Saraki told the President that the
Senate found the 18 nominees worthy to be
ministers as provided for in Section 147 (2) of the
1999 Constitution as amended. The ministers-designate are Senator Udoma Udo
Udoma, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, Chief Audu
Innocent Ogbeh, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, Dr. Osagie
Ehanire, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Danbazzau,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Hajiya Amina Ibrahim
Mohammed, Suleiman Adamu, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman Jibril, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), Dr.
Ibe Kachikwu, Abubakar Malami (SAN), Senator
Chris Nwabueze Ngige, Senator Aishat Jummai Al-
Hassan, Mr. Solomon Dalong, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun
and Senator Hadi Sirika.

Source - http://thenationonlineng.net/amaechi-splits-senate-panel/