FG Constitutes Panel on Executive, Senate Row to Avert Inaction on Ministerial Nominees

Osinbajo to head c’ttee as govt refuses to open up on Buhari’s medical bill Four ministers likely to be dropped from cabinet Ndume suspended for six months, Saraki, Melaye cleared Prof Sagay gets tongue lashing, says he will not honour Senate invitatio

Omololu Ogunmade and Damilola Oyedele in Abuja

Disturbed by the stand off between the executive and the Senate, the federal government yesterday constituted a committee to come up with recommendations on how to resolve the row amicably.

The executive, THISDAY learnt, was also keen on ensuring that the Senate does not mete out the same treatment to the two ministerial nominees – Prof. Steven Ikani Ocheni and Mr. Suleiman Zarma Hassan – whose names were sent by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate on Tuesday night, as it did to the 27 Resident Electoral Commissioner-nominees of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Senate on Tuesday resolved to suspend the screening and confirmation of the 27 REC nominees for two weeks over the continued retention of Ibrahim Magu as the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), despite his rejection twice by the Senate.

In line with this resolve, there were indications yesterday that the Senate would also defer action on the ministerial nominees over Magu.

However, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed while fielding questions from

State House correspondents at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the executive was concerned about its relationship with the legislature and a committee had been set up to resolve the differences.

He observed that executivelegislative rows were not new in any democracy, but efforts were being made to achieve a balance between the two arms of government.

Though he failed to disclose the committee’s terms of reference and the duration of its assignment, THISDAY was informed that the committee will be headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and will have all ministers who were former members of the National Assembly as well as National Assembly liaison officers, as members.

“The executive is concerned that the relationship between the two arms of government is not as smooth as it is supposed to be.

“In any democracy, it is a continuous struggle for balancing between the executive and the legislature because both of them are creations of the law.

“We must strive at all times to ensure that there is that balance, amity and smooth relationship. Just today, at the Federal Executive Council meeting, the issue was discussed and a committee is already working on ensuring that we resolve all these outstanding issues,” Mohammed said.

Also responding to questions on the details of the president’s medical bill during his 50-day vacation in the United Kingdom, Mohammed said the wellbeing of the president was the primary responsibility of the state.

According to him, the demand for how much was spent on the president’s health was a weighty issue which he said was both a security and moral issue, even as he wondered why pressure was being mounted to disclose how much was spent on the president’s health by the state.

“This matter has come up several times and our position on the matter is quite straight forward. What are the president’s conditions of service? What are his entitlements in terms of his wellbeing and health care? The state is supposed to take responsibility for these.

“We believe that asking for how much has been spent on the health of the president is an issue that we should weigh very well both for national security and also for moral issues.

“I don’t know why we must divulge such very sensitive information. I might be wrong, but I don’t have any experience elsewhere where the president of any country was ill and was forced to disclose how much the state spent on his health.

“Yes, there is the Freedom of Information Act, but it is also crafted in such a way that when such information is likely to endanger national security, I think it is an area that is not covered,” Mohammed submitted.

Also briefing the press on the outcome of the FEC meeting, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said the council approved the $500 million Eurobond already approved by the National Assembly, disclosing that the time of its issuance will be made known soon.

She also said the council approved the establishment of West African Tax Administration Forum to serve as a platform for the promotion of mutual agreement and cooperation among West African tax authorities.

Disclosing that Nigeria will host the forum, Adeosun said it would provide a platform for better information sharing and cooperation among West African countries on tax administration, adding that this was part of the nation’s tax reform initiatives.

“As you know, Nigerians own properties in Ghana and other neigbouring countries. Now, for tax purposes, they will be able to have access to that type of information,” she added.

Adeosun also disclosed that the meeting directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir David Lawal, to remind all registered companies about the law requiring companies to reflect the names of their directors and registered offices on their letter-headed papers.

She observed that most companies that transact business with the government fail to comply with this provision.

“For tax purposes, it is quite difficult to trace them. So, the SGF will be issuing a circular reminding agencies and ministries of government that it is the law and therefore they are at liberty not to treat any document that does not comply with the law.

“And equally, the Accountant General of the Federation is being advised that payments will only be made to companies that are fully in compliance with the law just to make sure that all those who are doing business with the government are paying the right taxes,” she added.

Also briefing the press, the Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd.), said in view of rampant cases of fire incidents in different parts of the country, the council resolved to revamp the nation’s Federal Fire Service through the purchase of 15 fire fighting tankers at the cost of N403 million. He said the cost was part of the N5.5 billion approved in 2016 budget.

He also said even though the number of the tankers to be purchased by the government was very small relative to the size of the country, it would be a starting point in the effort to make the fire service effective.

He also said the government was considering adopting a common standard for fire departments at both the federal and state levels.

Ministerial Nominees Unveiled

But as the executive announced measures to end the row with the upper legislative chamber, Senate President Bukola Saraki at plenary yesterday read Buhari’s letter seeking the confirmation of Prof. Ocheni from Kogi State and Mr. Hassan from Gombe State as ministers.

Ocheni is meant to replace the late Mr. James Ocholi, who along with his wife and son died in a car accident along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway last year, while Hassan is to replace Ms. Amina Mohammed, who resigned from the cabinet in January to take up an appointment as the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations.

By coincidence, Hassan was one of the 45 non-career ambassadors- designate confirmed by the Senate last week.

He was also once the Gombe State chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which merged with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and factions of other political parties to form the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ocheni, on the other hand, is a professor of public sector accounting and Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences at the Kogi State University, Anyigba.

Ocheni was born on June 25, 1959, and got his doctorate degree in Public Finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 2004.

He is a Fellow of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) and of the Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria.

THISDAY however gathered that the lawmakers have taken a decision to defer action on all requests from the executive until the president removes Magu.

The lawmakers on Tuesday had expressed indignation at the retention of Magu despite his non-confirmation and had noted that since the rejection of nominees sent by the executive does not seem to matter to the president, there may be no point in screening his nominees.

“As was agreed yesterday (Tuesday), there is no point bothering ourselves to screen and confirm or reject any nominee, since it will not matter.

“The president has refused to remove Magu, so what is the point of us wasting precious time and taking steps to go through the process of screening and confirming other nominees?” a senator asked off the record.

Another Senate source also confirmed to THISDAY that the nomination of Ocheni and Hassan was the precursor to a cabinet shake up, which would see at least four “non-performing” ministers dropped from the cabinet.

Although the source did not disclose which ministers will be affected by the shake up, he disclosed that the state governors had already submitted their nominations to the president, who has since directed Osinbajo, Saraki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and the SGF to review the list and make their suggestions.

“The list would soon be sent to the National Assembly, but of course it will suffer the same fate as the RECs, unless this current impasse is resolved,” the source disclosed.

Ndume Shown the Exit

In a related development, Senate yesterday also suspended its former Majority Leader, Senator Ali Mohammed Ndume (Borno South) for a period of six months over his failure to conduct due diligence before filing what it described as a frivolous petition against Saraki and Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West), thus dragging the institution of the Senate into disrepute.

The suspension came into effect yesterday.

The Senate also cleared Saraki of any involvement in the purchase and importation of a $298,000 armoured Range Rover Sport Utility Vehicle that was impounded by the Nigerian Customs Services (NCS), and also cleared Melaye of allegations that he did not possess a first degree from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria as he claims.

The senators took the decision after voting to adopt the report of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, which was directed to investigate the allegations, following a point of privilege raised by Ndume.

Before considering the report of the Committee on Ethics, Saraki had to step down while the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu presided. Saraki could not preside over a matter in which he was a party.

Ndume last week had urged the committee to investigate the two issues as published by an online news medium and rehashed by a national newspaper (not THISDAY).

He argued that the probe was necessary to protect the integrity of the Senate, adding that the publication had accused the Senate of being on a vengeance mission against the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd.) for refusing to intervene in the release of the seized vehicle.

Saraki and Melaye on Monday appeared before the committee alongside the Vice Chancellor of ABU, Prof. Ibrahim Garba, the importer of the vehicle, Mr. Tokunbo Akindele, and the car dealer, Mr. Olanrewaju Shittu.

Ndume also appeared before the committee and stressed that he had not petitioned the committee, but only raised a point of order.

But the Senator Samuel Anyanwu-led committee, in its report considered at plenary yesterday, indicted Ndume for not conducting due diligence before bringing the matter to the floor of the Senate.

It observed that as a former Senate Leader and a ranking senator, he was expected to have weighed the consequences of the allegations carefully and investigated them before presenting them on the floor of the Senate.

The report said: “That having failed to cross-check facts before presentation at plenary, he could not be said to be a patriotic representative of the Senate and should be penalised to serve as deterrent to others.

“That the Senate do suspend Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume for bringing Senator Dino Melaye, his colleague, and the institution of the Senate to unbearable disrepute at this time of our national life when caution, patriotism, careful consideration and due diligence should be our watchwords.”

The committee had recommended a suspension of 181 legislative days for

the former majority leader, but following intervention by some senators who argued that Ndume was a first time offender, his suspension was reduced to six months.

Senator Peter Nwaoboshi (Delta North), however, noted that Ndume could not be considered a first time offender, as he had at various times impugned the institution of the Senate.

He disclosed that as Senate Leader, Ndume had prevailed on the lawmakers to send Magu “back to the president” after the report of the Department of State Services (DSS) was read, without screening.

“I want to make this point that Senator Ndume is not just a first time offender. We took a decision on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), yet he went outside and maligned the Senate.

“We took a first decision on Magu when we came in here after our executive session and I want the record to be put straight. When the report of the DSS was read, he rose here and started begging all of us, that please we should send Magu back to the presiden, for the president to take a decision on him.

“He was begging everybody here and out of respect for him as a leader at that time, this Senate obliged him. After that he went out to malign the Senate, but he did not tell the public that he was the person who begged us.

“He even went further and said we should invite him (Magu) and tell him why we could not confirm him. He was moving like a saint,” Nwaoboshi added.

Ndume, following the indictment of the SGF for corruption and fraud amounting to N2.5 billion by an ad hoc committee and the rejection of Magu without screening last December, had briefed the press and presented a contrary position.

Senator Jibrin Barau (Kano North), backing the report of the committee, said Ndume wasted the time of the Senate with a frivolous petition.

“He wasted the time of this Assembly and I hope this will not happen again. How can someone go to the social media, pick something frivolous and bring it here?

“Is it not the same social media that said our dear president was dead the other time?” Barau asked.

Senator Matthew Iroghide, however, argued that the suspension for 181 days, as recommended by the committee, was too long and appealed that it be reduced to six months.

Senator Abubakar Yusuf (Taraba Central) also appealed for leniency for Ndume since he had expressed satisfaction with the investigation of the Ethic Committee.

Instead, Yusuf recommended that Ndume should only be suspended from committee membership, including the chairmanship of the Committee on INEC.

“The people of Southern Borno would not forgive us if we suspend their representative,” Yusuf said.

However, his plea and that of Senator Ibrahim Kurfi (Katsina Central) that Ndume should not be suspended at all fell on deaf ears.

Attempts to get a reaction from Ndume were unsuccessful, as he neither picked up phone calls nor responded to a text message sent to him by THISDAY.

Prof Sagay Gets Roasting

Also, the senators yesterday berated the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay over comments credited to him describing the Senate as childish, irresponsible, and filled with people of questionable character.

Sagay had made the remarks while reacting to the decision of the Senate to defer action on the confirmation process of the REC nominees.

The matter was raised at plenary by Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Ibn Bala N’Allah (Kebbi South), who citing Orders 14 and 15 of the Senate Standing Rules, urged that the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to summon Sagay to name the persons of questionable character in the Senate.

N’Allah added that if the president had done due diligence on Sagay’s background, he would not have appointed the law professor as the chairman of PACAC.

Backing him, Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) lamented that presidential aides have continued to cause tension between the executive and legislature, instead of working to improve the relationship between the two arms of government.

“We are elected people just like the president. We are not above board, Nigerians have the right to criticise us because they brought us here, but a presidential aide does not have that right. He can only proffer suggestions on the way out,” he said.

The Senate Leader noted that Sagay’s comments were divisive and capable of causing unnecessary tension that would hinder Buhari’s government from achieving its noble and laudable campaign promises.

Senator Nwaoboshi, citing three instances, however, urged his colleagues not to pay heed to Sagay whom he said only “thrives where there is trouble and confusion”.

“Last year when the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave a ruling in a matter staying proceedings on an action, Prof. Sagay came out and cast aspersions on the judges of the Supreme Court and said everything he wanted to say about the judges that served in that panel.

“The Nigerian Bar Association, then under Barrister Alege, came out to apologise on behalf of the NBA. He (Sagay) took on the NBA and said all sorts of things about body,”Nwaoboshi said.

He also recalled that Sagay was sacked from the University of Benin by the Ibrahim Babangida military administration for trying to “pull down” Prof. Grace Alele-Williams when she was appointed the first female vice chancellor of the institution.

He cited another instance when Sagay was asked to deliver a speech in Delta State after the creation of the state.

“He said that because the good people of Delta North, where I represent, have the state capital, we do not have the right to aspire to the position of governorship of Delta State.

“I want to appeal that we should not waste our time on Prof. Sagay. Let us face important issues, national issues, than dwell on Prof. Sagay because he will continue along the same path.

“If a man at almost 80 years, if not more than 80 is behaving like that, it is his trademark and you cannot change him now,” he added.

After the debate on Sagay’s remarks, Saraki referred the matter to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges to invite the professor of law.

However, Sagay was quoted by online news medium Premium Times yesterday as stating that he would not honour the invitation of the committee.

He said: “They have no power or authority to summon me,” Mr. Sagay, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and law professor, said. “I am not in the category of persons they can summon.”

He said the Senate resolution was unconstitutional, adding: “They ought to know that I do not come within the category of persons they can summon.

“I would advise them to tell their lawyers to check Sections 88 and 89 of the constitution. Through that they will know that I don’t fall within that category.”

“They don’t have the authority to summon me. I am outside the group of persons they can summon. I am not a civil servant, I don’t belong to any commission."