Senate Shifts Amaechi’s Screening To Tuesday

The Senate has postponed the screening of ministerial nominees earlier slated for Thursday till next Tuesday.
The upper legislative chamber said “there will be no ministerial screening yesterday, (Thursday). We will continue on Tuesday, October 20, 2015”.
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions on Monday called off the consideration of the petitions it received against the nomination of former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and Amina Ibrahim Mohammed as ministers.
A Port Harcourt based group, the Integrity Group, had forwarded a petition to the Senate, alleging financial impropriety against Amaechi with the aim of preventing him from being  confirmed as minister.
The petitioners, who sent their petition to the Senate through Senator George Thompson Sekibo and two other Senators, claimed that Amaechi mismanaged N79 billion Rivers State funds. The Senate Committee, after a brief meeting with Amaechi at the National Assembly, said the subject matter of the petition which is related to the white paper on a report of a Judicial Panel of Inquiry is already a subject of court case. The former Rivers State governor, who appeared before the committee in company with his former Commissioner for Information, Mrs Ibim Semenitari and two members of the House of representatives told the panelists that the matter upon which the committee invited him is pending before a court of competent jurisdiction.
The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, had wanted to know from Amaechi if the matter was awaiting court pronouncemen.Anyanwu after hearing from Amaechi noted that in line with Section 7 of the Senate Standing Rules, it would amount to subjudice to consider the petition.