Politics

After apology, Senate screens Keyamo

Published

1 year ago

August 8, 2023

AFTER hours of grandstanding and moves to stop the screening of the immediate past Minister of State, Labour and Employment and a ministerial nominee from Delta State, Festus Keyamo, SAN, the Senate yesterday chickened out and screened him..

The Senate had dissolved to a closed session which lasted about three hours, following a motion by the Deputy Minority Leader, Darlington Nwokocha, LP, Abia Central, and Enyinnaya Abaribe, APGA, Abia South, to step down Keyamo’s screening.

The Red chamber that was earlier thrown into a rowdy session, with the lawmakers sharply divided over whether to suspend the screening of Keyamo or not, returned after break that lasted for three hours.

At the end, Keyamo was screened and asked to take a bow and go.

This was, however, after he apologised to the Senate and explained that the list of the beneficiaries of the N52bn Public Works scheme was available for scrutiny.

He was subsequently asked to go and sin no more.

The Senate at the commencement of yesterday ‘s screening, first attended to the former Commissioner for Higher Education, Kano State, under Governor Umar Ganduje, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud Bunkure.

President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, then asked that a proper motion be moved to that effect that Keyamo be forgiven and the Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, APC, Borno, moved the motion that Keyamo be forgiven.

This was seconded by Barinada Mpigi, PDP, Rivers South East.

Earlier, before he was screened ans asked to take a bow and go, there was sharp division among senators which led to a rowdy session.

Trouble started soon after the nominee introduced himself and read his resume, just as he told the Senate that he fought for the right of the Senate and that he went to court and won a case to have the Upper Chamber confirm the appointment of service chiefs, when the Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Darlington Nwokocha, LP, Abia Central rose at 1.37pm to raise a point of Order.

Nwokocha’s point of order was with regard to a matter in 2020 about the public works programme where the sum of N20,000 was appropriated to 1000 Nigerians in every local government area in the country.

Nwokocha, who cited section 88( 1b) of the 1999 constitution as amended, reminded Keyamo of the fact that he accused the National Assembly of being corrupt and wanted to hijack the process of disbursement of N 52 billion.

He said: “Subject to the provisions of this constitution, each house of the National Aseembly shall have powers by resolution to publish in its journal or in the official gazette of the governme t of the Federaltion to direct or cause to be directed an investigation into any matter or thing to which it has power to make laws

b) the conduct of the affairs of any person authority, ministry or government depatment charged or intended to be charged with the duty of or responsibility for executive administering laws enacted by the National Assembly and disbursing or administering money said to be appropriated by the National Assembly.

“I want to bring to the notice of this house an issue that came up in 2020 and that issue was the public works programme which we all welcomed with opened arms because it is something that will help our people.

”Today, we are talking about paying N8000 to people to alleviate poverty. Then, it was N20,000 to 1000 persons across the 774 local governments, which my local government is part of, and I am sure your own local government also.

“At a point, we thought it was our responsibility because if some people can use the instrumentality of law which they found themselves within their confines to advance for all their justices, we use the instrumentality of the legislature to support our people and the populace which we represent.

”At that point, being a subject of controversy and public debate which we wanted to know and possibly give him fair hearing about what happened to our constituents, so we invited him to come and tell us, what the structure is.

“When he (Keyamo) was invited, what we are talking about is a N52billion appropriated by the National Assembly and the right of appropriation resides on the legislature. That is our right, the right of oversighting resides in us.

The furious Senator Nwokocha insisted that the Senate would not tolerate a situation where government appointees were not held accountable and moved a motion saying the screening of Keyamo should be stepped down.

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, APGA, Abia South, seconded the motion, saying the nominee rejected the summons of the Senate and House of Representatives on the public works programme.

The Senate was, thereafter, thrown into a rowdy session and Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, subsequently put the question to voice vote.

Akpabio was reluctant to agree for a division( a division means each senator voting individually).

The Senate then entered into a closed door session that lasted ten minutes, after which the Senate president rushed to the villa to meet President Bola Tinubu.

The agenda of the meeting was not made public, but it was gathered that the meeting was in connection with the screening of Keyamo and the stiff opposition by senators that his screening should be stepped down, pending when he explained why he ignored invitation to him in the 9th Senate to explain how the government social works was handled.

Reacting to his nomination yesterday, Keyamo thanked President Bola Tinubu for making it possible, saying he had given up hope of serving in the Federal Executive Council of the current administration.

He said: “My appearance here today (yesterday) can only be by the grace of God and by the special benevolence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and I want to say a special ‘Thank You’ to him for giving me this rare opportunity to serve.

“In fact, why I said I give all the glory and adoration to God is that on Friday, when my name was announced on this floor, my bags and baggage were already packed with that of my family; we were going on a short vacation.

”I had given up any hope to be here when all of a sudden, they said my name has been announced.”