All attention in Nigeria today will focus on the Senate as the stringent screening of the Ministerial Nominees begins. This exercise is anticipated to generate some brouhaha especially as some states and interested persons have kicked against the nomination of some individuals.
Every indication points to the fact that the atmosphere will be febrile and upbeat. Anxiety will run deep among the ministerial nominees, about 21 of them, whose fates are in the hands of the “distinguished” senators. The screening which begins about noon today will be like no ministerial screening before now.Not even in the 7th Senate under David Mark did we witness what we are about to see live on television today. This is because the 8th Senate under the leadership of Dr.Bukola Saraki has introduced stringent conditions for the nominees.
Are these smart moves or landmines to scuttle the ambitions of some prospective ministers nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari? Providing a detailed explanation after an executive session last week on how the screening would go today, the procedures and conditions that the nominees are required to meet, chairman of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Media and Publicity, Dino Melaye disclosed a number of issues that had to do with the approach, the procedure for the screening of the nominees.
He said two broad modalities were developed:first criterion is using the constitutional provisions as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Second criterion is a consideration of Section 147 (3)and (5). This section of the Constitution stipulates the qualifications a ministerial nominees must meet before being confirmed as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The niggling worries now are the new Senate Rules that were suddenly put in place. First, is Section 120 of the Senate Rule which states that “the Senate shall not consider the nomination of any person who has held any public office as contained in Part 11 of the fifth schedule to the Constitution prior to the time the nominee was nominated,unless there is a written evidence that the nominee has declared his assets and liabilities as required by section 11(1) of part 1 of the fifth schedule to the Constitution. All nominees, we are told, shall be required for scrutiny by the senators and show certificate of clearance from the Code of Conduct Bureau.
The nominees are also required to submit themselves to “finger print clearance by the Force Criminal Investigation Department of the Nigeria Police Force”. A clean bill will also be sent on each nominees by the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission which is reported to be investigating each nominee. Accountability and transparency of every nominee is said to be the driving force in this respect.
Perhaps, the most controversial is the new condition which state that a nominee must receive at least the support of two senators from their states as well as a clean bill from the Senate Public Petitions Committee. Sen. Samuel Anyanwu (Imo) chairs the Committee. The Committee has received a flurry of petitions in the past week. More petitions are pouring in.
It is the prerogative of the Senate to set the rules and the screening conditions for the ministerial nominees, we at ARM only want to implore our distinguished senators not to use this process for witch-hunting and vendetta. This is time for our senators to displace pragmatism, maturity and patriotism. Not the time to be sentimental and emotional. We expect a rigorous and vigorous screening of the nominees and nothing less. The senate must be nationalistic in its approach and discard frivolous petition such as based on ‘non-indigene’ against some women.
The process of change towards a prosperous Nigeria preached by this administration start with this litmus test of the screening of the ministerial nominees and we shouldn’t allow politics or whatever shenanigans to derail it.
