Posted by Mark warns senators against bribery on
The Senate President, Brigadier-General David Mark (retd), has warned senators against getting involved in bribery over the screening of people nominated to be ministers. He said
Addressing senators on Thursday, while revealing that the Senate would commence screening of those nominated to be ministers next Tuesday, Mark said his warning became imperative because of what happened in 2003, when a former minister accused principal officers of the Senate of demanding bribe from him to facilitate his confirmation.
"No senator is authorized to receive any form of gratification either on behalf of himself or on behalf of the Senate. No ministerial nominee must offer any form of gratification on behalf of himself. Any nominee found doing so stands disqualified.
"We have a duty to protect the integrity of the Senate. We are going to be thorough in the screening exercise. We will ensure that those who are qualified are appointed ministers," Mark stated.
Meanwhile, the Senate president has formally read out the list of the 34 nominees sent by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. He had hardly announced that the screening of the nominees would commence next Tuesday when Senator Shola Akinyede (Ekiti) raised a point of order, urging the Senate to defer the screening as the time between Thursday and Tuesday was short, and would not give aggrieved members of the public enough room to file petitions against any nominee.
The senator was promptly overruled by the Senate President, who insisted that today and Monday were long enough for aggrieved members of the public to file petitions against any nominee they are dissatisfied with.
Among those who made the list are four immediate past ministers, who served in the Obasanjo regime.
They are: Dr. Hassan Muhammad Lawal, former minister of labour and productivity; Halima Tayo Alao, former minister of state for health, Dr. Sayyidi Abba Ruma, former minister for education and Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, former minister of commerce.