Report on Amaechi ready – Senate

The report on ministerial nominee and former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, on alleged N70 billion fraud is ready, Samuel Anyanwu, chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, has revealed.

Also ready is the report on Sokoto State nominee, Aisha Abubakar.

In an exclusive chat with BusinessDay on Wednesday, Anyanwu said the reports would be presented before the Senate once it was listed on the Order Paper.

“The report on Rotimi Amaechi and Aisha Abubakar is ready and will be submitted as soon as it is listed in the Order Paper by Rules and Business Committee,” he affirmed in a text message to BusinessDay.

Three Order Papers were produced prior to the commencement of Tuesday’s plenary. While consideration of the report was listed in the first document, it was removed in the second and third documents.

But the Senate had said the Committee’s report is not sacrosanct, as its recommendations would be debated on the floor of the hallowed chamber when presented.

Senate leader, Ali Ndume, who made this known to journalists yesterday, said while the APC senators would have their way, the PDP senators would have their say.

The legislative house currently has 59 APC senators and 49 PDP senators.

He said: “The Ethics and Privileges report is not the determinant of Amaechi. It is the Senate. Even if they write their report, it has to be laid before the Senate, which will decide on the report. It is not the report that will decide the fate of Amaechi.”

The Senate leader also explained the postponement of ministerial screening from Wednesday to Thursday.

Specifically, the senator said the screening was postponed because of the political differences between the nominees and the deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu.

“This is not a normal day because we are screening APC nominees of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said. Ekweremadu is a PDP member.

According to Ndume, majority of lawmakers reasoned that since the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, commenced the screening process, it would be better for him to complete it.

Observers have punctured Ndume’s defence on the grounds that it contravenes Section 53 (1) (a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which states that in the absence of the Senate President, “the Deputy President shall preside”.

Senator Ndume said “there are issues surrounding it”, hence the need to postpone plenary.

Findings revealed that the emergence of Ekweremadu has caused discomfort amongst APC senators who believe the ruling party should have occupied the position.

The Senate, Ndume explained, had earlier adjourned to Wednesday, without realising that the Code of Conduct Tribunal would sit, despite the pending suit at the Appeal Court.

“We thought that the court would not even sit today (yesterday). But when we discovered that the court would sit and the Senate President is presiding and we have an issue at hand that the Senate President and that is the screening of ministers, we said let us shift it by one day to enable the Senate President attend the court session. And then we continue tomorrow (today)”.

Also yesterday, a ministerial nominee from Imo State, Prof. Anthony Anwuka, appeared before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, where he admitted that although he is an in-law to incumbent governor, Rochas Okorocha, he was appointed on his ‘personality’ and not as an in-law to the governor.