Ethics committee clears Amaechi, Amina
By Ezrel Tabiowo
Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, forwarded to the Senate the last batch of 15 ministerial nominees, bringing the total number to 36.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, who confirmed to journalists that the President’s final list had been forwarded to the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, disclosed that it was jointly delivered by him, the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Hon Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila at about 4.24pm.
Special adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, also confirmed receipt of the list at the stated time.
However, both Enang and Olaniyonu refused to disclose content of the list as they said it was contained in a sealed envelope which according to them, would only be opened during plenary today by the Senate President.
In another development, the Senate would proceed today with the screening of former governor of Rivers state, Rotimi Amaechi and Hajia Amina Mohammed, former Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary General on Post-2015 development, following a clean bill handed to both nominees by the committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, handling the petitions written against them by concerned persons from Rivers and Kaduna states.
Both Amaechi and Ibrahim according to sources, might be among the nominees up for screening today.
The ethics committee chaired by Senator Sam Anyanwu (PDP Imo East), ruled that since issues raised in the petition against Ameachi by the Integrity Group from Rivers state over alleged N72billion fraud, were already subjects of litigation in court, the committee in line with the Senate rule, cannot treat the petition.
“Having considered the written submission of Ameachi’s lawyers to this committee in respect of petitions against him by Integrity Group from Rivers state and in line with Senate rule 41(7), which states that the Senate shall not deliberate on any matter in which there is judicial remedy in court, this committee hereby suspends further deliberation on the petition”, he said.
For Ibrahim, it was an outright clearance by the committee since the petition against her by the Southern Kaduna Coalition was predicated on assumption that her nomination was for Kaduna state and not Gombe, her natural state of origin.
The erstwhile aide of UN scribe, while facing the committee said she was from Gombe state and wondered why the petitioners alleged that her ministerial slot was for Kaduna state.
The chief petitioner himself, Barrister James Kanyip, while responding to questions from the committee members, admitted that their petition against her was solely driven by their assumption that she was been nominated to fill the slot of Kaduna state and not Gombe, her state of origin.
This submission made committee members to further probe him, asking him the source of his informationthat Ibrahim was a nominee from Kaduna.
Kanyip who told the committee that it was from the social media, further the ire of members, especially the deputy chairman of the committee, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah ( APC Kebbi South) , who said he was deeply worried that a lawyer of Kanyip’s status could rely on information from social media upon which he predicated such a weighty petition.