The Senate has suspended Thursday’s ministerial screening, announcing that it will continue on Tuesday.
Former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and Adebayo Shittu from Oyo State were scheduled to be screened on Thursday, having been initially pencilled down for Wednesday.
“Ladies and gentlemen, there will be no ministerial screening today. We will continue on Tuesday. We will tweet CVs of new nominees,” the Senate announced on its Twitter handle, @NGRSenate.
According to Senate spokesperson, Dino Melaye, who spoke to AIT on Thursday morning, the leadership of the Senate decided to use today to attend to other legislative duties.
Melaye said the postponement had nothing to do with the petition against Amaechi, adding that the ethics committee’s report on the former governor was ready and that he had been cleared for screening because the matter was in court.
“It is prejudicial for the Senate to comment on it,” he added.
However, a member of the committee contradicted Melaye’s comment when he said the report was not ready because members of the committee were tired.
Obinna Ogba, the senator from Ebonyi Central Senatorial District, said the report was not ready because of exhaustion resulting from the ministerial screening exercise.
He hinted that the committee has not met since Tuesday, when the report was expected to be ready. This made Senate President Bukola Saraki to ask the committee to ensure that it was submitted on Wednesday.
“As soon as we meet, the report will be submitted,” Ogba said, adding that no decision has been reached on the petition.
Amaechi’s screening was stepped down on Wednesday because the ethics committee said its report on the former governor, who is facing allegations of corruption while in office to the tune of more than N50 billion, was not ready.
Shittu’s case was only a matter of limited time, as the senators had to cut short the ministerial screening on Wednesday to confirm 18 nominees who had been screened.
Melaye said the two will now be screened next Tuesday alongside eight nominees from the second list, with the other eight screened the following day.