The controversial ‘bow and go’ tradition of the Senate in which some nominees of the President are excluded from the rigours of extensive questioning, has attracted condemnation to the upper legislative chamber.
As of Thursday, July 25, 2019, 16 out of 24 ministerial nominees were simply asked to ‘bow and go’ without being subjected to rigours of questioning by senators.
The development means that 67% of nominees screened so far have enjoyed special privilege.
The screening exercise which commenced on Wednesday with the controversial ‘bow and go’ tradition is expected to continue on Friday and end next Monday.
It was gathered that the policy which began in 2003 as a privilege strictly meant for nominees who had been elected to the Senate in the past, has now been extended to all persons who had had legislative experience both at Federal and State levels.
Other categories of nominees who now enjoy “the bow and go” privilege are all female nominees, all nominees from the State of origin of incumbent Senate President as well as national officers of the governing party.
Late Senator Wahab Dosumu, who represented Lagos Central Senatorial District between 1999 and 2003 was the first to enjoy the privilege when he was appointed minister in 2004 after defecting from the then Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Among President Muhammadu Buhari’s 43 nominees who have so far enjoyed this privilege include Chris Ngige (Anambra), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), George Akume (Benue), Emeka Nwajuaba (Imo), Adeleke Mamora (Lagos), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers).
Others are Tayo Alasoadura (Ondo), Mustapha Baba Shehuri (Borno), Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa), Niyi Adebayo (Ekiti) and Muhammadu Musa Bello (Adamawa).
The olive branch was also extended to Abubakar Aliyu (Yobe). Although he is not a former lawmaker, Senate Leader, Abdullahi Yahaya, called on colleagues to grant him the privilege of not being questioned on the grounds that his brother was not only an ex-lawmaker but that he is a constituent of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.
Also excluded from scrutiny were four female nominees: Zainab Ahmed (Kaduna), Sharon Ikeazor (Anambra), Ramatu Aliyu (Kogi) and Sa’adiya Farouk (Zamfara).
However, some civil society organisations have expressed disappointment with the Senate for insisting on the policy.
Frank Tietie, Executive Director, Citizens’ Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER) expressed concern that the development does not augur well for the polity.
The Abuja-based legal practitioner said the development has already confirm fears in some quarters that the Ninth Assembly leadership is a rubber stamp.
“The way the Senate is going about it shows that it is also confirming the fears of all those who thought that this current leadership of the National Assembly would be a rubber stamp one.
“The citizens of the country should now be more afraid that when legislative scrutiny appears to be lax, what will suffer is the principle of checks and balances which would have improved the performance of government which will ultimately translate to the well being of the people,” Tietie told BusinessDay in a telephone interview on Thursday.
He said he was forced to turn off his televison when he noticed the dangerous trend the exercise was taking.
“This is a sad development that points to a government that will not live up to a high standard. It is good enough that the nominees list is a lackluster list. It is uninspiring. There is nothing fresh about it. Rather I join all those who see the nominees list as a reward list.
“But government is beyond that. Government is about delivering services. It is about competence. But what the National Assembly has done by asking former lawmakers to take a bow means that it has thrown competence to the wind. It is of no consideration.
“And so, when they start by not attaching portfolios, it means that competence and compatibility will not be considered. But to further nail the coffin on competence, the National Assembly has decided to be lax in its demand for competence by serious questioning and process of scrutiny. This is not a good sign that this government will deliver on competence,” he added.
Also condemning the Senate policy, Austine Aigbe of Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) noted that: “What we see now is that you are a former senator, former house member, so you bow and go. The funny one is that your brother used to be a member of the National Assembly and you come from the area where the Senate President is from and because of that, you take a bow? What does that add up to the Nigerian state? It is a wierd scenario that we find ourselves.
“But I think the Senate owes Nigerians a duty to engage these nominees on topical challenge that the country faces. There is insecurity, corruption, poverty. So, we need to address all of this. The nominees must be able to tell us how they will address the economy so that Nigerians can follow them up. As journalists and civil societies, that is the only way you can follow them up. From the way it is now, we can’t follow them up because they never said anything. So, we can’t engage them. The Senate is not helping the Nigerian people to have good governance that we all yearn for. I think we are in a very pathetic situation.”
The criticisms that has greeted the application of the policy began even from the within the Senate on Thursday.
Minority leader of the Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe, drew the attention of the Senate to the negative effects of the policy.
He noted that in global parliamentary practices, confirmation hearings are conducted for nominees to assess their competence and qualifications for the appointment of being a minister.
According to Abaribe, confirmation hearings are not endorsement hearing but an assessment exercise for nominees.
Abaribe had also drawn the attention of his colleagues to section 147 (2) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which granted the Senate the power to confirm ministerial appointments pointing out that:”This is a confirmation hearing, it is not an endorsement hearing and I so move that we abide by what the constitution says.”
Lawan, however, stood his ground and defended the policy.
Right from the commencement of the screening exercise on Wednesday, the Senate President kept reminding his colleagues about the convention and policy.
Lawan said: “We have agreed on a policy on how we go about the screening, I just want to reiterate that policy and to say that we will extend the privilege to members of the legislature even at States level. The procedure we have adopted is to ask the two leaders in the House, the senate leader and Senate minority leader to speak on our behalf and then I round off.”
When the former Gombe State Governor, Danjuma Goje, drew the Senate’s attention to order three of the Senate Standing Rule, and disclosed that the rule never recognized those who had served in State Houses of Assembly as part of people to be given automatic confirmation, Lawan said there is nothing wrong in granting automatic confirmation to former State lawmakers even if the Senate Rule did not allow it.
In specific reference to former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who had served as Rivers House of Assembly Speaker, Lawan explained.
“We are not doing it for him. He is going to benefit this not because we came out with this policy to support him, the present nominee is going to be a beneficiary by chance. We are doing it not for him alone. Any nominee who passed through the State Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate will benefit.” He stressed
He explained that the Senate enjoyed the privilege of changing its regulations at all time.
Goje had said: “Our Order here does not recognize the State House of Assembly. When I came to this Senate, I raised the issue having been in the House of Assembly but they said the order of the Senate does not recognize House of Assembly. I don’t know if we are changing this rule, if we are changing this rule, let us know”
A lawmaker who lamented the negative consequences of the policy said that all nominees who enjoyed the privilege have always enjoyed automatic confirmation.
“Once you enjoy this privilege, it is automatic confirmation. Now that it has been enlarged, fears are that the essence of the screening is gradually being defeated,” the source who did not want his name in print, said.
The development also reared its head on the floor of the Senate on Thursday, as Lawan explained that the upper legislative chamber is not shielding nominees from questioning.
Speaking after two Points of Order raised by two senators, the Senate President admitted that although the tradition was not backed in its Standing Order, the present leadership would amend its rule to that effect.
Earlier on Thursday, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti) and Bashir Ajibola (APC, Osun) moved two separate motions to explain that the Senate was not shielding nominees from questioning. According to them, the Senate was only sustaining a tradition it met on ground.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
