Posted by By BASHIR UMAR, Abuja on
The Senate was torn apart on Thursday during a stormy debate, resulting in the nomination of Mrs. Farida Waziri, as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) being referred to the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Anti-Corruption to screen her within one week.
The Senate was torn apart on Thursday during a stormy debate, resulting in the nomination of Mrs. Farida Waziri, as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) being referred to the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Anti-Corruption to screen her within one week.
The Senate President, Senator David Mark, also ordered that if Mrs Waziri had already resumed duty she should go away from the EFCC premises until the committee clears her.
'In my layman understanding, if an appointment has to get our confirmation, the person cannot resume before we confirm. Go and find out if she has resumed, because she has no business going to resume before this Senate confirms her.
If she has resumed, my honest advice is that we should tell her to leave the place alone because she cannot resume before we confirm her."
Besides, he said: 'If there is something wrong in what we did in the past, we should not justify it, we should not make it Rule of Law.
He cautioned senators against being emotional during a debate on a national issue, pointing out that such attitudes would not augur well for the Senate and the nation.
'So like we have already agreed, let the committee go and do its work and report back within one week." But taken unawares and looking confused, Chairman, Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes, Senator Sola Akinyede, sought to know which of the assignments would the Senate want him to submit a report in one week.
Mark quickly replied: 'The assignment is that of screening and confirmation."
Following a request by the Senate leader, Senator Teslim Folarin, that the Senate began the process of confirming the nominee, Senator Akinyede, raised an objection, pointing out that the authority of the Senate was being questioned by the nomination, because according to him, it was illegal.
He expressed shock that the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Michael Aondoakaa, wrote a letter to him trying to defend and justify the action of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in appointing Waziri in acting capacity before sending her name for confirmation by the Senate.
Senator Akinyede also argued that what the president had done was in violation of section 147 of the 1999 Constitution which stipulated that the person to occupy that office should first be confirmed by the Senate before assuming duty in that capacity.
His words: 'If we allow this to happen, we will open flood gate to other appointments and it will make nonsense of the Senate."
Akinyede had earlier written a letter to the AGF, picking holes in the appointment of Mrs. Waziri as acting chairperson of the EFCC.
At this juncture, the Senate broke into two camps as the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Mahmoud Kanti Bello (Katsina State), led some other senators in defending the action of the president.
He said the allegation against the president's action was very unfortunate, pointing out that the most important thing was that Mr. President had sent the nomination to the Senate for confirmation.
Senator Ahmed Sani Rufai (Zamfara State) said there was no basis for the opposition being mounted against the nomination because the president had complied with all rules in the nomination.
According to him, the Senate had confirmed several appointments which arose from similar circumstances in the past.
He stated that Akinyede was wrong in writing a letter to the AGF even when the Senate had not been formally informed of this nomination by the president.
In his own remark, Senator Uche Chukwumerije (Abia State) enjoined his colleagues to simply confirm the nomination and send a message of warning to President Yar'Adua that that was the last time the Senate would condone any such practice that ran foul of due process and rule of law.
'My suggestion is that we should find a middle-way approach to this issue. We must be able to take a decision on this matter in such a way that we will confirm the nomination and also tell the president that look, we will never again take this from him," he suggested.
In his argument, Senator Abubakar Sodangi said the Senate should advise the president to withdraw Waziri's nomination and re-nominate her to the Senate later, pointing out that similar issues had happened during the last administration and the former president simply withdrew the nomination and re-sent the name to Senate.