Ministerial nominees in secret meeting with Dogara

In a move to create some smooth passage as they face the Senate today, some of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees, yesterday met with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, behind closed doors.

Led to the meeting by Senior Special Advisers to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate and House of Representatives), Senator Ita Enang, and Abdulrahman Sumaila Kawu, respectively, those at the secret meeting that lasted for about an hour included Aisha Bello (Sokoto), Zainab Ahmed (Kaduna), Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim (Yobe), Suleiman Bello (Adamawa), Brig. Gen. Mansur Dan Ali (Zamfara) and Senator Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa).

There had been a petition against the nomination of Aisha Bello who the Sokoto state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other interests groups accused of incompetence in earlier positions of responsibilities, as well as former governor of Rivers state, Rotimi Amaechi, on
allegations of corruption. Amaechi was conspicuously absent at the meeting yesterday.

The Transparency Group from Rivers state in its petition had called for the withdrawal of Amaechi, citing his being under investigation by the nation’s anti-graft agencies, and having been indicted by a commission of inquiry which probed the activities of his regime in the state.

“Mr. President, I have a petition against a ministerial nominee from Sokoto state, Mrs Aisha Abubakar which was written by the good people of Sokoto and the highlight of the petition is that she should be replaced by a more competent person; Sokoto indigene,” Senator Ibrahim Gobir through whom the petition against the Sokoto state’s nominee was channelled had told the Senate President, after the second batch of nominations was unveiled.

There had also been reported protests against the nomination of former boss of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Zainab Ahmed, by the people of Kaduna state on grounds that she is a relation of incumbent governor of the state, Malam Nasir el-Rufa’i.
The nominees in attendance did not speak to members of the media, but it was gathered that the meeting might not be unconnected with the screening exercise that was to resume this morning on the floor of the Senate, as suggestions were that there might be some underlying issues against many of the nominees, but yet to be made public.

A source, who craved anonymity, cited for instance, the manner in which Senator Lokpobiri hurriedly defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the ruling APC, only to be offered a ministerial nomination.