Senate Committee On Ethics Clears Road For Rotimi Amaechi Ahead Of Ministerial Screening

The screening of former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi and Amina Mohammed, former senior special assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals, two candidates whose presence on President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial list generated controversy at the upper chamber of National Assembly on Tuesday may not be rancorous.

The three senators representing Rivers State – Olaka Nwogu, George Sekibo and Osinakachukwu Ideozu had last Wednesday submitted a petition written by a non-governmental organization against Ameachi’s confirmation, alleging that he misappropriated N70 billion belonging to Rivers as the state chief executive of the state.

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had directed that the petition which generated uproar from APC senators should be submitted to the Ethics Committee for investigation. The Nyesom Wike led Rivers State Government had also in a hurriedly released white paper on the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry it set up to probe the sale of assets of the State under the former Governor asked Amaechi and others to return the sum of N97 billion.

Also, a senator representing Kaduna South Senatorial District, Danjuma La’ah, submitted a petition last Thursday against the nomination of Amina Mohammed on behalf of Southern Kaduna Coalition, an amalgamation of all the pressure and public interest groups of Southern Kaduna extraction. It was alleged in the petition that the ministerial nominees is not from Kaduna State.

The petition, signed by the group’s coordinator, James Kanyi, read in part, “We have credible evidence to believe that she is an indigene of Gombe State and not Kaduna State as constitutionally required.”