Senate defers screening of Amaechi, Shittu

Tension, suspense and shouting on Wednesday characterised the ongoing screening of the ministerial nominees President Muhammadu Buhari sent to the senate for confirmation.

Eight out of the 10 ministerial nominees slated for screening appeared before the Senate on Wednesday while 10 others were earlier screened on Tuesday.

Contrary to expectations, a former Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, was not screened by the 109-member senate because the report of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions that treated the petition against Amaechi was not ready.

 Also, the nominee from Oyo State, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, did not appear before the Senate because of time constraint.

The screening of Amaechi and Shittu was subsequently postponed till Thursday (today).

Chairman of the committee on ethics, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, told his colleagues that the report on the petition against Amaechi by the Integrity Group, a Port Harcourt-based organisation, was not ready as the members could not meet to review the recommendations because the plenary ended late on Tuesday.

He, however, informed the senate that a meeting of the committee had been rescheduled for 1pm on Wednesday to enable it to ratify the report.

The implication of the development, according to the senate president, was that the report of the committee would be considered on Thursday (today) to enable the senate to decide on whether or not the former governor would be among the nominees that would be screened.

Saraki subsequently read the names of all 18 candidates screened so far and asked his colleagues to confirm by saying “aye” or reject by saying “nay”.

One after the other, each of the 18 nominees was confirmed. The new ministers are Senator Udo Udoma (Akwa Ibom); Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Chief Audu Ogbeh (Benue); Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu (Ebonyi); Dr. Osagie Ehanire (Edo); Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (Kano); Alhaji Lai Mohammed (Kwara);  Amina Muhammed (Gombe); Suleiman Adamu (Jigawa); and Ibrahim Jibril (Nasarawa).

Others are Mr. Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); Dr. Emmanuel Kachikwu (Delta);  Abubakar Malami (Kebbi); Dr. Chris Ngige (Anambra ); Senator Aisha Alhassan (Taraba); Mr. Solomon Dalong (Plateau); Mrs. Kemi Adeosun (Ogun); and Senator Hadi Sirika (Katsina).

First to appear on Wednesday was Fashola, who attributed his achievements in Lagos to teamwork, stressing that he could not personally take credit since he built on the pioneering work of all those who served before him.

“It would be extremely inappropriate and immodest of me and indeed, they would not let me if I had attempted to take personal responsibility for all that happened,” he added.

The senator from Abia-South senatorial district, Enyinnaya Abaribe, set the ball rolling by asking Fashola whether or not he truly spent N78m on the construction of a website and another N258m on the construction of a borehole in Lagos State.

Abaribe also asked Fashola his view about the concept of loyalty.

Fashola, who admitted that simple questions could be the most difficult at times, attributed the alleged misinformation to people’s poor understanding of how his administration operated as neither him nor any of his commissioners signed cheques or awarded contracts.

He said, “Let me say first, that it raises the question of public understanding of the role governors, public servants and some would be surprised to hear that as a governor of Lagos State, I didn’t sign cheques, none of my commissioners signed cheques.

“I didn’t fix contract prices. It is an institutional process. The only training I have is that of a lawyer, but in order to execute work on a project, we need the input of architects, we need the input of quantity surveyors.... Nobody can award contract over benchmark price.

“Throughout my tenure, I have been confronted with the price of things and the reality is that when you design a road, what you meet in reality when construction starts is usually not what you end up with.

“In all of these, nobody has alleged that I have corruptly enriched myself. I could not have been a master in computer and technology. I need something to do my work.”

Fashola said the concept of loyalty remained a strange phenomenon but added that he remained loyal to the causes he believed in.

He said, “As for loyalty, the concept of loyalty is a strange one. The real answer to that question is, may your loyalty not be tested.  I always pray that my loyalty will not be tested because you might have to take a bullet for somebody.

“We discuss it loosely but in public service, I have remained loyal to causes that I have signed unto and in all my life, nobody can fairly accuse me of giving my word and going back on my word.”

Fashola apologised to Nigerians over the policy of his administration to rid Lagos of the destitute from other parts of the country, stressing that his action was misconstrued.

He also recalled that a former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, who is now a senator, sent some Lagos indigenes, who are part of the destitute in Akwa Ibom, to him in Lagos.

Abuja master plan

Commenting on the Abuja master plan, Fashola admitted that he did not have much knowledge of Abuja unlike Lagos where he had lived all his life but noted that an effective development control and a review of the master plan designed for the Federal Capital Territory would go a long way in restoring sanity in the nation’s capital.

He said, “In deciding what to do about Abuja, those are the real issues. First, getting a hold of its resources, knowing its districts and its problems, knowing the people, sharing with them what the thoughts are.

“The master plan itself may perhaps need to be reviewed. Plans are not static documents, they must be reviewed periodically. So, a level of consultation and knowledge would be necessary in order to accurately say this is where Abuja should be heading.”

Lai Mohammed

The confirmation of Mohammed, the national publicity secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress, generated controversy among the senators as the Peoples Democratic Party members initially appeared not to agree with his nomination.

The PDP senators unanimously responded negatively when the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, sought the position of the senate via voice votes both at the committee of the whole and at the plenary session.

As soon as the name of Mohammed was mentioned by Saraki for confirmation, many PDP senators inside the red chamber erupted in shouts.

Mohammed, who appeared to enjoy the reactions of the PDP senators, said he did his job as the spokesperson for the APC with passion, adding that he would bring the same level of passion to bear on his job as a minister.

The PDP senators unanimously responded negatively when Saraki sought for the position of the Senate via voice votes both at the committee of the whole and at the plenary.

Free gas cylinders to Nigerians

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Emmanuel Kachikwu, while answering questions from the senators, said government would from next year, start the distribution of a free cylinder to every home while gas stations would be constructed closer to residential areas.

The NNPC GMD also justified contract cancellation and restructuring at the NNPC even as he debunked the rumours of pump price reduction.

He said $15bn was being lost yearly due to the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill and that the thinking of Buhari was that subsidy removal would come after putting in place palliatives to cushion the effects of the action.

On alleged oil pump price reduction

Kachikwu said, “We have come out very clearly that there is no such plan. In the next one, two days, you find that individuals will open their stations and products are there. We have enough storage in this country that will last us for the next 40, 50 days. 

Commenting on the state of refineries, Kachikwu said refineries in the country were operating at between 25 to 27 per cent capacity.

He said, “Refineries are operating today at about 25-27 per cent capacity. I know that there had been this whole number bandied around to the fact that we are at 65 per cent performance level; that’s not true and I’ve advised His Excellency as such. My analysis over the last six weeks confirmed a consistency because the issue is not an upsurge. 

 “Over the last 10 years, we have not really done a serious shutdown routine maintenance on the refineries. Most of these refineries are 30 years old and above. Refineries have a lifespan of 50 to 60 years if you continue to maintain them constantly.

Free cylinders to Nigerians

He said, “Next year, we are having a programme we are going to launch that will give free cylinders to every Nigerian citizen. Once we do that, we begin to say how do we get gas to nearby depots closer to the people because once we do that, we begin to move out from kerosene.

“But until we do that, kerosene is still the bread and butter of the average Nigerian family in terms of cooking.

Kachikwu, who commented on cost of kerosene said, “What we are doing right now is do an interim, holistic but firm and forecasted management in the sector to ensure that our citizens do not suffer. Kerosene is a different ball game.

“You will notice that only NNPC for now imports kerosene. And that is because the sale prices are such that nobody can bring in kerosene and make money. As a matter of fact, 50 per cent of NNPC’s subsidy charges come from importation of kerosene.

“So, the first thing is how do you get kerosene easily available? The refineries work. If the refineries work, we produce more kerosene. If you begin a good deforestation and afforestation programme, you can begin to slide our people away from kerosene. And so, it is absolutely essential that gas goes all over the country.”

Asked his views on the Petroleum Industry Bill, the nominee said when he was appointed the GMD of the NNPC, he vowed not to be hindered by the lack of PIB in solving the problems in the country’s oil sector.

He said, “First of all, let me say that one of the things I have said to myself since resuming as GMD of the NNPC is that I will not be constrained by the lack of PIB in making sure that holistic solutions to the industry continue to be propelled.

“By the time the last Senate was rounding off, it had got a version that was clearly the version that both houses were looking at. Am I going to create a new version? Not really. What I will need to do is take the version that you have, look at it again and make changes.”

Meanwhile, Alhassan explained to the senators that her nomination by Buhari was not a compensation for losing Taraba State governorship seat on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

Addressing senators during the ministerial screening in Abuja, she said, “I want to correct the information that is going on within and outside the country.

She said, “My nomination by Mr. President is a choice between the matter going on at the Taraba tribunal and the ministerial nominees. Corruption in the judiciary takes many forms. It goes beyond taking and giving of money. When a lawyer advises a candidate who accepts being guilty to plead not guilty it is corruption.”