APC, PDP Senators Prepare For Epic Battle, Firewall Over Amaechi's Screening

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Weeks after he was tipped as a minister by President Muhammadu Buhari, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s nomination is still generating ripples at the Senate.
 
He is billed for screening tomorrow – six days after 18 of the 21 ministerial nominees on Buhari’s first list were cleared.
 
Senators, it was gathered yesterday, are set for an epic battle over his screening.
 
Amaechi and Adebayo Shittu, a former member of Oyo State House of Assembly in the Second Republic, are the ones remaining on the list to be cleared.
 
The president has since replaced the 21st person on the list and  the immediate past deputy governor of Niger State, Musa Ibeto.
 
Some of the minority Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators are spoiling for war –  initiated from outside the Senate – vowing to stop Amaechi’s screening, but their All Progressives Congress (APC) counterparts are set to ensure his clearance.
 
“We are allowing the minority to have their say. We will have our way,” Senate Leader Ali Ndume, (APC, Borno North), said last night.
 
He said: “This issue of Amaechi is generating unnecessary tension. I think being a two-term governor and a former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, he is qualified to be a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
 
“The report of the Senate Committee is ready and we will go ahead with the screening of the nominee. Our responsibility lies in ensuring that Amaechi has met the requirements of the constitution.
 
“We have to confirm if he is truly from Rivers State, his agenda for the nation and if he has the capacity to serve this country.”
 
Ndume added: “There is no provision in the 1999 Constitution or the Senate Standing Orders that says you must disqualify a nominee because of a petition.
 
“If anyone has issues or allegations against Amaechi, let the person go to court to prove these. Under normal circumstance, Amaechi ought to take a bow in view of his past records.
 
“But we will want to hear from him what he has in stock for the nation which he wants to serve.
 
“We will consider the report of the committee on Tuesday or any time in the week. But this noise from PDP cannot stop Amaechi’s confirmation.
 
“We have 58 APC Senators (excluding the President of the Senate who has no vote unless there is a tie) and we are all united behind Amaechi. The PDP has 48 Senators. Assuming that all the PDP Senators are against Amaechi, the majority will still have its way.
 
“Section 5 of the constitution is very clear on the powers of the President. President Muhammadu Buhari has exercised his powers by appointing his nominees. Those aggrieved should go to court.”
 
It was learnt that members of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions have sorted out their differences and finalised the report on the petition against Amaechi.
 
A member of the committee said: “We have completed our assignment and we will present our report to the Senate on Tuesday.
 
“I will not tell you our recommendation but we have been fair to the petitioner and the defendant based on issues and precedents.
 
“This petition gave us a tough time because a lot of legal intricacies are involved. Nigerians are becoming more interested in who leads them.”
 
Ahead of Amaechi’s screening, there has been a division in the rank of PDP senators.
 
Some of them were said to have told their colleagues that they may not support the position of the party to “halt the screening and confirmation of Amaechi.”
 
It was gathered that the PDP senators backing Amaechi based their decision on personal grounds.
 
One of them said: “I think on a personal note, he is qualified for the job. He has the capacity to deliver on any assignment given to him.
 
“Some of us also do not believe in politics of tit-for-tat. Amaechi worked against our victory but politics is fluid, he might be with us tomorrow.”
 
Another PDP senator said: “I think the interest of the nation should be paramount. This screening of Amaechi is assuming a personal dimension. We should be concerned more about his ability for the job than anything else.
 
Credits: The Nation
 
 
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