By Ayo Yusuf
Less than 48 hours before the commencement of the screening of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ministerial nominees, the Senate remains undecided over the procedure the process should take.
While some senators want a thorough process in which the character and ability of each nominee is questioned, others prefer there’s no departure from the norm in which nominees who have been governors or legislators before are just required to take their bows and leave.
In a list in which one third are either current or former members of the National Assembly or governors, including the current acting chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the system of asking such people to just bow and leave will task the patience of Nigerians who will no doubt see the screening process as patently unserious.
Yet as the first batch of 28 nominees begin screening on Monday following the Senate’s decision to set aside their usual rules in order to sit throughout the weekdays, there seems to be a consensus that the president should get his cabinet as quick as possible but there is no agreement on how thorough the Screening should be.
The Senate Majority Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele believes Nigerians deserve to have ministers who have been subjected to very rigorous screening. At a Friday event tagged “24 Hours Marathon Praise and Worship Service” organised to mark his 60th birthday held at the Obafemi Awolowo Civic and Convention Centre in Ado Ekiti, Mr. Bamidele assured his audience that the Senate will scrutinise the ministers thoroughly to ascertain their competences and capabilities to serve Nigeria diligently and in order to more quickly bring the dividends of democracy to the populace.
“Let me assure Nigerians that the screening won’t be only bow and go, except for those who had been members of the National Assembly before and whom we knew and appreciated that they have the wherewithal to give Nigerians qualitative leadership.
“Nigerians expect us to be thorough. They are expecting us to do a thorough screening. But take a bow and go is not an unparliamentary convention, it has become a practice all over the world and that person must be a former member of the parliament who is well known to us. Somebody we have confidence in his ability.
“We are going to follow the constitution to ensure that we deliver our mandate to make those who voted for us happy. This will occur at the level of parliament, oversight functions and at the committee level.
“We will partner Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to deliver on his promises to Nigerians. We are determined to ensure that all the three arms of government, particularly the judiciary are put on a good footing to be able to deliver justice without fear or favour. We are determined to ensure that the right people are brought on board,” he said.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu similar insists the screening would be thorough. He told Journalists on Thursday that senators would dwell on experience, character, personality, background, among others, just as there will be no take a bow and go except when there are no questions.
Senator Adaramodu said, “This time, screening will be very thorough. It is not going to be a situation where the screening will be anyhow. We are going to know the background of the nominees and we are going to disappoint Nigerians.
“We are very much aware of the high expectations of those who ill assist the President in fulfillment of his mandate and the constitution. To satisfy the expectations of Nigerians for high-velocity performance, we will “eyemark” not “earmark”, the performances. The screening will be very thorough, but there will still be the take-a-bow-and-go.
“The Senate will scrutinize the character, the ability of every nominee. Thorough screening for anybody who will be minster entails he/she must have ideas about everything, but in core specialities like health, yes the minister must be a professional.
“The 10th” Senate will not disappoint Nigerians. The team will bring oxygen, the chain to the economy, character of the nominees must be carried in the resume, but we will not manufacture questions and allegations against anyone,” he said.
He advised that anyone who has anything against any of the nominees can channel such to the right quarters.
“Although the Senate is not supposed to sit on Mondays, but because of the importance attached to this national assignment, we have suspended all our rules. On Monday, we are not supposed to have plenary which you know, but we have suspended all rules, all laws for us , infact we are supposed to go on our annual vacation, we have suspended it for the benefit of this assignment.
This is a National assignment, very crucial and very pertinent, it is necessary and compulsory for us to be at the chamber on Monday at 11am, all other days 10am,” he said.
Senator Adaramodu also disclosed that there will be no allocation of time for any nominee, “if a single nominee takes up to three hours or a whole day, so be it. A nominee who has been brought forward must explain himself if after explaining and nobody is asking question that you are this or that, we will not manufacture it.”
On the usual take a bow which has become a norm for former senators he said it is a norm and not an anathema, “Even if you came to National Assembly to submit a paper you must take a bow, so the issue of taking bow is not an anathema, it is a tradition, it is not a slang for complacency. It does not mean you cannot be held accountable. It is just a norm,” he said.
However, the former Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe sharply disagreed with these views, saying that nothing new will happen.
Speaking with Vanguard, Senator Abaribe said, “the screening of the Ministerial list will not be different. Nothing has changed to give any signal of a change in methodology.”
Another Senator who spoke on the condition of anonymity, agreed with Senator Abaribe.
The senator said with the list compromising former governors, former Senators and ex- members, House of Representatives are dominating the list, it would be more a take a bow and go show.
Tinubu’s Ministerial list submitted barely two days to the end of a constitutionally mandated deadline is made up of four former governors: Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, his counterpart from Rivers, Nyesom Wike, the immediate past Governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru and former Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, who is currently the Deputy Majority Leader in the Senate; and the current acting National Chairman of the APC, Senator Abubakar Kyari who represented Borno North in the 8th and 9th Senate.
Also on the list is Senator John Enoh who represented Cross River Central in the 8th Senate and Senator Abubakar Sani Danladi was former Acting Governor and Deputy Governor Taraba State; former Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Nkiru Onyejiocha who represented Isuikwuato/ Umunneochi Federal Constituency, Abia State; Hon. Olubunmi Tunji Ojo, who was Chairman, House Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC; Abubakar Momoh, a two- time member of House of Representatives who represented Etsako Federal Constituency, Edo State and Ekperikpe Ekpo, who represented Abak Federal Constituency from 2007 and 2011 from Akwa Ibom State.
All these people may be required to just take a bow and leave as a result of their previous stay in the National Assembly.
