How Senate President, Ahmed Lawan saved Amaechi from tortuous confirmation

 

BY KAZIE UKO

President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, wielded not only the gavel but the weight of his office to rescue ministerial nominee and former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, from the ambush laid for him by some members of the Senate.

Senators, especially from the minority camp, had sought to exclude the former governor of Rivers State and two-term Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, from enjoying the privilege accorded to nominees who had served in the National Assembly, to “take a bow and go”.

But the Senate President who had expanded the Senate rule to accommodate legislators at the state level insisted that the returning minister be spared of going through any form of scrutiny. Not even the point of order raised by a Senator, drawing the attention of the Senate President and the house that the Senate rule only made exemption for current or former members of the National Assembly, would dissuade Lawan.

The senators had wanted Amaechi to go through the mills by responding to questions from senators, like all the other nominees without waver.

Said the senate president: “Distinguished colleagues, he’s going to benefit this, not because we came out with this policy to support him. We said so even before he came. So, it’s not like he is going to benefit because we are going to do it now. Any person, nominee, who passed through a legislative house and that will include state assembly, House of Representatives and Senate…”

The senate president’s position did not seem to go down well with some of his colleagues who mischievously interjected, helping him to conclude his statement with the inclusion of local government legislators as also part of the beneficiaries. This led to outburst of laughter in the chamber.

Even though Lawan succeeded in navigating Amaechi out of the booby trap, but it was not until the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South) who spoke on behalf of the minority group of the house gave Amaechi a piece of the feeling of his group, particularly those of them from the South East and South South parts of the country.

Senator Abaribe summarised: “I have spoken to the Rivers State caucus and they have asked me to please convey this message to you that they expect that you are minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which includes Rivers State, which also means that whatever you can do as minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in making sure that peace and security is sustained and maintained in Rivers State, that you should please do so.

“Also, to always recognise that as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that I have had interaction with you and you have told me that the Eastern corridor, regarding the railway, that if you are returned as the Minister for Transportation again, that that will be your priority. Eastern corridor goes from the South South all the way to North East.

“As you are doing well for the Western corridor, as you’re doing well for Ibadan-Lagos railway, that we want that same thing on this side (South East, South South zones) including Agbor (Delta State) to Onitsha (Anambra State) so that we can move goods through the Ajaokuta-Warri railway.

“And to go further to say sir, let us also expect from you that the Nigeria railway will be done within Nigeria, before we go outside of Nigeria to connect any of our neighbours because charity begins at home.”

Abaribe’s last statement was in apparent reference to reported plans by the Federal Government of Nigeria to connect the Republic of Niger by rail through President Buhari’s home state, Katsina.