Temper rose on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday during the screening of 6 out of the remaining 11 ministerial nominees of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Trouble started when the nominee from Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Usani Uguru, during his screening, said “God forbid” to an observation that he had a good relationship with some Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) politicians as a public officer.
The nominee, a member of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, had informed the senators that he had a good relationship with some politicians, including senators, in the discharge of his official duties.
“Are they PDP members?” a senator asked. Uguru responded, “God forbid”, twice, thus provoking the anger of the opposition senators and a point of order raised by the Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, who is the immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom State.
Akpabio drew the attention of the Senate to the alleged rude remarks of the nominee against the PDP, stressing that the privileges and rights of his colleagues had been breached by the nominee.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, noted the observation of the minority leader and asked the nominee to react to the issue. The nominee apologised and the screening process continued.
Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, also of PDP, accused the nominee of failure to declare his assets because the document was not attached to his Curriculum Vitae.
Saraki, however, intervened and informed his colleagues that all the nominees had submitted copies of their resume and that they were available in his office for confirmation.
Another PDP senator, Mao Ohuabunwa, drew the attention of the Senate to the fact that Uguru allegedly procured his tax clearance certificates on the same day, thereby creating an impression that the nominee had rushed to pay because of the screening.
Ohuabunwa said:
All the tax clearance certificates the man submitted to the Senate were obtained on the same day. Mr. Senate President, we should not ignore it. We should find out why tax clearance for a number of years were obtained and submitted to the Senate on the same day.
I am a Christian and this was submitted by a Pastor, not a Mallam. This is not correct, it is not in order.
Saraki also faulted the point of order raised by Ohuabunwa and ruled him out of order, while the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, clarified that Uguru as well as other nominees could still declare their assets, either before or after their confirmation.
Another nominee, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed from Zamfara State, created a mild drama when a senator asked her to recite the National Pledge and she missed a line.
Ahmed who had worked in the Nigerian Telecommunications Industry for about 20 years before her appointment as the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative ended the pledge with “….to be loyal, faithful and honest” instead of “…to be faithful, loyal and honest”.
This action generated prolonged side talks among the senators.
Trouble started when the nominee from Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Usani Uguru, during his screening, said “God forbid” to an observation that he had a good relationship with some Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) politicians as a public officer.
The nominee, a member of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, had informed the senators that he had a good relationship with some politicians, including senators, in the discharge of his official duties.
“Are they PDP members?” a senator asked. Uguru responded, “God forbid”, twice, thus provoking the anger of the opposition senators and a point of order raised by the Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, who is the immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom State.
Akpabio drew the attention of the Senate to the alleged rude remarks of the nominee against the PDP, stressing that the privileges and rights of his colleagues had been breached by the nominee.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, noted the observation of the minority leader and asked the nominee to react to the issue. The nominee apologised and the screening process continued.
Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, also of PDP, accused the nominee of failure to declare his assets because the document was not attached to his Curriculum Vitae.
Saraki, however, intervened and informed his colleagues that all the nominees had submitted copies of their resume and that they were available in his office for confirmation.
Another PDP senator, Mao Ohuabunwa, drew the attention of the Senate to the fact that Uguru allegedly procured his tax clearance certificates on the same day, thereby creating an impression that the nominee had rushed to pay because of the screening.
Ohuabunwa said:
All the tax clearance certificates the man submitted to the Senate were obtained on the same day. Mr. Senate President, we should not ignore it. We should find out why tax clearance for a number of years were obtained and submitted to the Senate on the same day.
I am a Christian and this was submitted by a Pastor, not a Mallam. This is not correct, it is not in order.
Saraki also faulted the point of order raised by Ohuabunwa and ruled him out of order, while the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, clarified that Uguru as well as other nominees could still declare their assets, either before or after their confirmation.
Another nominee, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed from Zamfara State, created a mild drama when a senator asked her to recite the National Pledge and she missed a line.
Ahmed who had worked in the Nigerian Telecommunications Industry for about 20 years before her appointment as the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative ended the pledge with “….to be loyal, faithful and honest” instead of “…to be faithful, loyal and honest”.
This action generated prolonged side talks among the senators.
No comments:
Post a Comment