₦airaland Forum

Punch News – After three postponements, a former
Governor of Rivers State and President Muhammadu
Buhari’s ministerial nominee, Rotimi Amaechi, was finally
screened on Thursday by the Senate but the exercise left
the Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate
alleging betrayal.
The opposition senators have also threatened to oppose
Amaechi’s confirmation when the time comes.
They said their All Progressives Congress colleagues in the
upper legislative chamber betrayed the agreement they had
not to screen the ex-Rivers governor given the report of the
panel that investigated the petitions against him.
The ethics committee of the Senate was said to have
advised that Amaechi screening be left till the end of the
cases of alleged corruption he has in court.
One PDP senator, who asked not to be named, said, “We
had opened Thursday’s sitting with a closed session, which
lasted for 50 minutes to sort out knotty issues relating to
the screening of Amaechi.
“During the closed session, Chairman of the Ethics
Committee, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, briefed us on the
report and indicated that the committee reported that the
issue regarding Amaechi’s petition was in court and that the
Senate should suspend action on his screening, pending the
resolution of the court issues.”
Another senator, who said a similar thing, said the PDP
senators were surprised when the Senate President, Bukola
Saraki, and the other APC senators started asking Amaechi
questions.
The two and others alleged that all the senators at the
closed session had agreed that the PDP senators would
insist on not having anything to do with Amaechi, while their
APC colleagues also agreed that they would only ask the
nominee to only “take a bow and go.”
They said they were surprised seeing Saraki and other APC
members asking Amaechi questions.
At the screening, which lasted for about 55 minutes, the
PDP senators did not ask the nominee any question with the
Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, saying his members
would not participate in the screening of Amaechi until the
outcome of his court case.
Akpabio also raised a point of order that no controversial
matter be brought before the Senate.
He said, “My point of order is under Order 43. The PDP
senators seated here will not have any question for the
nominee because we have just received the report of the
ethics committee bordering on corruption and all sorts of
things from the Senator Anyanwu committee and we have
not debated that report at all. So, we have little or nothing to
ask the nominee.”
Akpabio then asked his PDP colleagues whether he had
spoken their minds and the opposition senators responded
in the affirmative.
The PUNCH learnt however that the APC senators had
pleaded with their PDP counterparts during the closed
session to allow Amaechi to be screened while the debate of
the report of the ethics committee continued.
The PDP senators were also said to have agreed to the
suspension of the debate on the report of the ethics
committee only if their APC colleagues would also ask the
Rivers nominee to take a bow and go so as not to “cause
controversy.”
Amaechi had arrived on the premises of the National
Assembly around 10.30am, dressed in Rivers attire. His
name was Number One on the order paper, with other
nominees. –
Heineken Lokpobri (Bayelsa); Omoleye Daramola (Ondo);
Adewole Folorunso (Osun); Baba Shehuri Mustapha (Borno);
and Ocholi James (Kogi ) – listed in that order.
The business of the day commenced with the laying of the
report of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and
Public Petitions, on the alleged fraud allegation against
Amaechi, by Anyanwu. On the directive of the Senate
president, Amaechi was led into the chamber moments later
by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National
Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang; the National
Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; Senator
Olorunnimbe Mamora; Governor Rochas Okorocha; Rivers
APC governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside; Senator
Victor Ndoma-Egba and a former Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’Abba.
Amaechi explained details of his achievements as Rivers
State governor for eight years and pledged to improve on
the relationship between the executive and the legislature.
In a reply to Akpabio’s earlier order, the Senate Leader, Ali
Ndume, had raised a point of order under Order 53 (9).
Ndume said, “My position and by the grace of God, as a
Senate Leader, I want to guide the Senate properly. The
committee report has been laid by the committee that we
assigned to do the job of ethics and privileges and the
procedure is that after laying the report, we will make copies
of that report.
“This is a confirmation hearing, it does not stop the
confirmation hearing but we are glad that you have said that
you are not asking the nominee questions. We must as well,
as a former speaker and as a former governor, ask the
nominee to take a bow and go.”
Amaechi was Speaker of the Rivers State House of
Assembly before becoming governor in 2007.
The drama of the ex-governor’s screening continued with
Akpabio interrupting Ndume and telling Amaechi, “Mr
Nominee, the leader has spoken and by implication, the
leader is saying that today, the Senate should have a rule
that every nominee should bow and go. Maybe the leader
did not hear me well, what you (APC senators) are now
saying is that you can’t ask questions?”
Ndume also stood up again and said, “Mr chairman, as I
said, I raised two orders. One: It is my responsibility as the
Majority Leader. Two, on the other order that I raised, the
gentleman you see here as a nominee, it’s my responsibility
to market him here before the Senate.
“It is you people that are given the privilege to ask questions
and you said….”
Calling his colleagues “you people” led to an uproar and
Saraki had to apologise on behalf of Ndume and asked the
PDP senators to accord Amaechi the usual courtesies of
former lawmakers who had appeared before the Senate.
Amaechi was thereafter asked questions on the challenges
in the Niger Delta; his alleged indictment by the Rivers State
Government Commission of Inquiry and his view on
corruption.
At this point, Akpabio left the chamber.
Amaechi was again asked further questions by many APC
senators before he was asked to take a bow and go.
As part of his answers, he said, “Corruption is very difficult
to define. If you are a public officer and you don’t take a
bribe, I have never taken a bribe in my life but if they send a
girl to you and you sleep with the girl and do her favour, you
are corrupt.
“Corruption is a very wide concept. If people are contesting
a position and you offer your son, brother or sister an
opportunity to hold that position, probably the person is not
qualified, you are corrupt. So, it is difficult for me to define
corruption.”
He said the APC used anti-corruption to sell the Buhari
brand to Nigerians.
Amaechi said, “We sold to the public the fact that there was
massive corruption in the system and that there was the
need to fight that corruption. We agreed that the only way to
fight that corruption is to put a new government.
“So, we had to get a signpost candidate. The signpost
candidate is a man who the Nigerian public has seen as an
incorruptible president; that was why the party had to put
President Buhari forward. We thought that there was a need
to do things differently.
“I thought that as good as the former President (Goodluck
Jonathan) might have been, I don’t think he was suitable
enough for the growth and development of Nigeria. So, we
needed to offer an opportunity to somebody we believe is
better than the former President.
Amaechi denied being indicted by the Rivers State
Government Commission of Inquiry instituted to investigate
his stewardship as the governor for eight years.
He said, “There was nowhere I was indicted (in the judicial
panel report). I was born to test my rights and fight for my
rights, I was once a student union leader and believe me, if
there is one man who does not like corruption, I do not like
corruption.
“I came here with a copy of the so-called panel report, there
is no where that the panel indicted me, I am ready to tender
this report before the Senate. I was ready for the questions
on it and I brought the panel report so the Senate can
juxtapose it with the White Paper.
“However, because there are challenges, people in Nigerian
politics believe that there is the need to compromise and be
able to manage yourself around; I will do that but where it
clashes with my principles I find it a bit difficult to do what
people expect me to do.”
Ameachi stressed the need to diversify the nation’s
economy, improve on power supply and invest heavily in
agriculture as a means of providing jobs for the youths.
He said, “When you deal with the issue of massive
unemployment, you deal with the change in the economic
mantra. The mono-economic situation that we have cannot
survive. Nigeria cannot continue to be what we are if we
continue to rely on oil.
“For me, I agree with the President that there is the need to
invest in agriculture. If we invest in agriculture and
technology, you will hire as many workers as possible.
“Government must invest in that regard. We must diversify
the economy. Mining is another area that God has blessed
us with and we also need to invest in education because
some of these people are unemployable.
“We need to invest hugely in education. We did that in
Rivers State. For four, five, six years, our budget was
highest in education. So, if this happens, we will employ
quite a number of workers.”
Amaechi also justified his radical posture when he was the
Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. He said it was
meant to check executive recklessness.
He said, “The governors’ forum started as a check to
executive recklessness. The Senate president (Saraki) was
the chairman and with other governors who are here today
as senators, including Senator (Danjuma) Goje, to make me
the chairman of the forum for the first time.
“It happened in Kwara State and we checked the excesses,
including the expenditure of the oil subsidy. There is a case
in court up till now stopping the Federal Government from
drawing money from the account to fund oil subsidy.
“I think that the radical posture of the governors’ forum led
to the former president asking me that I had turned the
forum into a union, so it’s no longer a governors’ forum, it is
now a trade union and all we were doing was to defend the
lives of Nigerians and ensured that the money accruable to
the country was judiciously utilised.”
Amaechi was greeted with a loud round of applause from his
supporters when he emerged from the senate chamber. The
supporters were seen rendering solidarity songs.
The other nominees listed for the day were also screened by
the senators.
www.newspunch.org/amaechi-screening-saraki-betrayed-us-pdp-senators-vow-to-oppose-his-confirmatin/

Loool idiots. The hallowed chamber of scammers

Nxt

Keep on wailing

e be like say pdp don forget say they are no more the ruling party, chai anyway I blame APC and PMB for being too tolerant of these guys.

Esther was prepared for u guys why didn't you challenge him

"This people"

Cry cry babies!

Liars! You claim there was an agreement to ask Amaechi "take a bow and go" but when Ndume suggested same "you people" opposed him, saying APC should ask him questions.

PDP - deceiving their gullible followers since 1999.

Politics is sumtin u play Wit sense and maturity but the ex rivers state governor step on many toes and actd so childlish in some of his actions, there re many other active apc members that frm dsame region. But they were screen without issue, some of our politicians take this thing like do or die and that is what the ex rivers state gov did.

According to this report, PDP and APC agreed (in secret) that Amaechi will not be taking questions but will be told to take a bow and go. PDP during screening said they have no questions for Amaechi (keeping to the secret agreement), APC tell Amaechi to bow and go (also keeping to the secret agreement), PDP reject APC's bow and go position (as agreed by both party in secret), insisting Amaechi must be questioned. Which party/people are the confused one again?

Lol, bunch of clowns

This is a story of the hunter being hunted. The last time I chekced all the senators are jokers !!

sammyj:
This is a story of the hunter being hunted. The last time I chekced all the senators are jokers !!

Smh for gullible youths
Amaechi dat was seen with leaders of pdp in d senate lately at odd hours .... Trust Naija politicians

That's what you get when you deal with THE LYING PARTY!

............

bugzbunny:
Smh for gullible youths
Amaechi dat was seen with leaders of pdp in d senate lately at odd hours .... Trust Naija politicians

Those PDP senators should bury their face in shame. How can they allow themselves to be used by governor Wike to settle personal scores with Amaechi? On whose interest are they fighting and blocking Amaechi's nomination? It is not in d best interest of Rivers people or Nigerians rather of one man being Wike. This is stupid I must say.

For PDP its a win win situation,this has gone a long way to prove to the whole world,that the posture of Mr. president as an anti-corruptn czar is nothing but a scam!

They should get used to it. Saraki betrays everyone

Before nko! Amechi and Saraki na padi

AustineE1:
For PDP its a win win situation,this has gone a long way to prove to the whole world,that the posture of Mr. president as an anti-corruptn czar is nothing but a scam!

He just got an appointment to champion anti corruption war in Africa from African Union and you are here wailing. Haa!

let the nxt guy comment

Buhari has run completely contrary to all his promises. Having nothing to stand upon, he will soon realize that even the international community will cease taking him seriously.

All of una b mumu,don't u no dis is fake news....this is punch website www.punchng.com

Say No to TRIBAL WAR on Nairaland.

following this trend..<<<>>>>https://www.nairaland.com/2685457/photo-unholy-behavior-some-nairalanders

Amaechi.... Ameachi...... Ameachi.............

PassingShot:
Cry cry babies!

Liars! You claim there was an agreement to ask Amaechi "take a bow and go" but when Ndume suggested same "you people" opposed him, saying APC should ask him questions.

PDP - deceiving their gullible followers since 1999.

Dont mind them with their chicken brain.Even simple propaganda them no sabi

Lol interesting

Chameleon saraki...