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The confirmation of the former Governor of Rivers State, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, in the Senate last week may have pitched the Senate President against his Peoples Democratic Party backers, even as Saraki may not have heard the last from his traducers in All Progressives Congress. GEORGE OJI writes.
From the look of things, and as the Americans would say, the fall guy in the just concluded ministerial screening exercise, would presumably be the Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki.
Political observers, however, believe that he was in a quandary right from the commencement of the screening exercise. As it were, he was torn between the devil and the deep blue sea.
First, the Senate President needed to pander to two strong and equally contending interests. There was the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who he needed to use the occasion of the ministerial screening to pacify, having fatally injured them by the process that threw him up. There was also the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, senators, who Saraki owes a lot of gratitude, for his eventual emergence as the Senate President of the 8th Senate.
So, from the outset, as the famous crime writer, Sydney Sheldon, said in one of his works, 'Master of the Game', "Whichever option I chose, men must die."
For Saraki, it was clear that either of the options he opted for in the circumstance, he would obviously be in for it. In other words, he was sure in "a deep problem".
There is the school of thought that believes that he should have seized the opportunity of the ministerial screening to elicit serious commitments from his traducers in APC. But for reasons known to the Senate President, he opted for the pacifist option. How that option will address his challenges with the leadership of his party will play out in no time.
Political analysts believe that matters were not made any better for Saraki because, shortly before the commencement of the ministerial screening, his traducers in the party had 'engineered' his trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Abuja over alleged violation of his assets declaration and money laundering while in office 12 years ago as the executive governor of Kwara State.
So far in his trial at the tribunal, PDP senators have not let him down. The opposition lawmakers have demonstrated more than enough commitment and solidarity with Saraki.
They are the ones that have consistently accompanied him to the tribunal and provided the needed moral support each day the Senate President kept a date with the law.
It was gathered that during all the executive sessions that preceded each of the sessions of the screening exercises, he had always mindfully taken the middle of the road position to accommodate both the interest of his APC senator colleagues as well as those of the PDP.
Saraki deserved every imaginable pity last Thursday, during the confirmation of Amaechi. In the heat of the uproar generated by Amaechi's confirmation, he looked every inch confused and helpless. He could not rule decisively in favour of either side. So, when the PDP senators eventually took the decision and stormed out of the chambers, it provided great relief for him to side with the APC senators and conclude the exercise.
The PDP senators felt betrayed that the Senate President reneged on earlier agreement to suspend the confirmation of Amaechi to a later date to enable his legal processes on the fraud allegations run to the end.
The questions however by political observers is, now that Saraki has played the good-boy role and cooperated with his party to confirm all the ministerial nominees, against the plans of PDP senators, would his "sins" be forgiven him? Would those seeking his fall in APC be satisfied now and let the Senate President be? What if Saraki's traducers insist on his eventual fall, would the Senate President still enjoy the support and cooperation of the PDP senators who have sustained him in power so far, and whose interests he presumably has injured?
Now that the ruling APC senators have demonstrated that when a party is in power, it has to exercise its majority to its advantage fully, the questions is, will the APC senators now decide to use their strength to determine who becomes their leaders in the Senate? What if the PDP senators decide to withdraw their support for Saraki, what happens next?
Here lies the Senate President's dilemma.
National Assembly watchers believed that Saraki missed a serious window of opportunity provided by the two sides to have navigated a middle of the road position during the confusion leading to Amaechi's confirmation.
For some observers, Amaechi remains the albatross of the APC Government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari. For them, right from the time his name appeared in the ministerial list, it became obvious that he is a moral burden that the Government had to bear before Nigerians, particularly for an administration that rode to power on the crest of anti-corruption. The final confirmation of Amaechi at the Senate last Thursday was a true test of the democratic saying that while the minority will always have their say, the majority will ultimately have their way.
There was mild drama at the session in the Senate as PDP senators staged a walkout while the majority senators of the APC confirmed the nomination of the former governor of Rivers State and 17 others as ministers.
While the PDP senators wanted the confirmation of the former governor suspended as recommended by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, which investigated him over allegation of fraud and corruption, their APC colleagues raised strong objections.
The committee had recommended in its report that the screening and confirmation of Amaechi should be put on hold in line with order 53(5) of the Senate standing rule, which provides that the it should steer clear of all matters pending before any competent court of the federation.
The PDP senators had also boycotted the screening of Amaechi the previous week following the refusal of the Senate President to have the report of the committee debated before the screening. Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, had argued that the Senate could carry out the screening while debate of the report can come up later before the confirmation of the candidate.
But efforts by the PDP senators to push for the discussion of the report before the confirmation last Thursday was again frustrated by the APC senators, prompting the opposition senators to walk out en masse of the Senate chambers.
The upper house had earlier in the day screened and confirmed the appointment of the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, and five other National Commissioners of the commission.
Consequently, the lawmakers went into a closed doors session that lasted one hour and 15 minutes, wherein, they discussed the issue of the procedure for the confirmation of the ministerial nominees.
From what transpired on the floor of the Senate later, it was apparent that the senators were not able to resolve the issue of Amaechi amicably. Shortly before the confirmation exercise, Minority Leader, Senator Goodswill Akpabio, rising under personal explanation had reminded the senators of their previous agreement that any nominee that had a petition against him, such a petition shall be raised.
Consequently, the Senate proceeded with the screening. When it got to the turn of the Imo State nominee, Professor Anthony Anwuka, the Minority Leader, rising under order 43 of the Senate standing orders, said, "We agreed that even though a nominee may have been screened, when it comes to confirmation, we shall raise the issue of petition if there is one standing against the person". Akpabio reminded the Senate that there were petitions written against Anwuka before the Petition committee and moved that the issue be discussed.
The senator representing Imo North, Nneji Achonu, quickly rose up to inform the Senate that the petitioners had withdrawn the petition against the nominee, following which the candidate was confirmed. When it got to the turn of Amaechi, Akpabio again stood to oppose the confirmation on the grounds that the report of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition, which investigated the allegations against the former Rivers governor was yet to be discussed.
Saraki invited the chairman of the committee, Senator Samuel Anyanwu (Imo East) to read the report. The 11-member report, which was signed by seven members of the committee recommended the suspension of the confirmation of Amaechi because the Senate rules bar the red chamber from doing so.
Senate Leader, Ndume, rising under order 53(7) of the Senate standing rule book, argued that since the upper house rules prohibited it from confirming the nominee, the said rules should also bar the Senate from even discussing the report itself.
"Since the report recommends that we should not proceed with the confirmation of the nominee, I suggest that we should not also proceed with the consideration of the report,�"Ndume said.
Opposing Ndume, the Minority Leader insisted that, "The Senate should undertake proper discussion of the report presented before us first because the PDP had agreed on the day of the screening of the nominee that we can only speak when this report would be discussed."
Akpabio's remarks sparked protestations from the majority senators who erupted in uproar.
Senator Babajide Omowurare explained that since the matter is in court, the Senate should confirm Amaechi without delay. The lawmaker also argued that being the committee of the whole, which is the most important committee, the Senate can amend the report of any of its committees.
He cited section 147(2), which authorises the red chamber to screen and confirm ministerial nominees sent to it by the President and insisted that if any other legislation impedes it from carrying out this constitutional responsibility, the constitution must take precedence over that other law.
Senator George Thompson Sekibo informed the Senate of its supreme responsibility of legislating for the interest of Nigerians, noting that, �The Nigerian people we represent are in the majority, so we must not do anything that is against the interest of the majority of Nigerians."
He noted that the report on Amaechi was very weighty and bordered on corruption, sale of public property as well as abuse of public office, stressing that, "There is a moral burden on all of us here and Nigerians are watching us. The President is riding on the crest of no-corruption.
"The minority will always have its say while the majority will eventually have its way. Our say is that we shall join the President to fight corruption."
Attempts by Akpabio to respond further on the matter was frustrated by the majority senators who kept shouting that he should sit down to allow Senator Barnabas Gemade, who had been previously recognised by Saraki to speak, take the floor.
When the majority senators would not allow Akpabio speak, he looked backwards and signalled his PDP colleagues and they all subsequently left the chamber en masse.
The departure of the PDP senators provided the opportunity the APC senators needed to take over the remaining confirmation exercise.
Once the PDP senators were out, Saraki continued with the confirmation exercise. Expectedly, the APC senators confirmed the nomination of Amaechi with a very overwhelming aye.
While out of the chambers, the PDP senators proceeded to hold a press briefing at the Senate hearing room one, where they explained their reasons for walking out of the confirmation exercise.
"We have a responsibility to explain to Nigerians the reason why we walked out of the confirmation. We did not want to be part of that charade. What they did was total breach of Senate's own rule. We had no option than to stage a walkout when it became clear to us that they were bent on performing illegality," Akpabio said.
Also, Presidential Assistant on the Senate, Senator Eta Inang, who also addressed newsmen, commended the senators for confirming the nominees. He said the action of the lawmakers had confirmed that there is very harmonious, amicable and cooperative working relationship between the executive and the legislature.
He particularly commended the APC senators for showing that when a party is in power, it has to exercise its majority. Inang also commended the PDP senators for erring their opinion in a most decent and democratic manner.
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