The Senate on Wednesday directed Secretary to Government of the
Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal, to appear before its Committee on
Foreign Affairs over omissions and irregularities in ambassadorial
nomination.Also summoned with the SGF on the issue is Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama.
This
directive followed a Point of Order raised by Sen. Joshua Dariye
(PDP-Plateau Central) at plenary which began after a two-hour close-door
session.The lawmakers said that the SGF and the minister would explain
the processes that led to selection of nominees before screening of the
nominees would commence.Referring to Order 42 and Order 52, Senator
Dariye said that he received complaints about irregularities in the
selection of ambassadorial nominees from Plateau and other states.
He
said, “given the important role played by ambassadors, due diligence
must be given and there should be criteria to nominate qualified
Nigerians.
Seconding the order, Sen. Olusola
Adeyeye (APC-Osun Central) called for the intervention of the Senate in
view of numerous petitions with regard to the matter, saying that there
was a need to ensure that the right processes were followed in the
selection of the nominees.
Supporting the point of order, Sen.
Sunny Ugboji (PDP-Ebonyi) expressed concern that his state was not
represented in the nomination. While urging all aggrieved persons to
forward their petitions to the committee, Vice Chairman of the Committee
on Foreign Affairs, Sen. Shehu Sani, said that the committee had
already begun investigation into the matter.“We have received series of
complaints from different states on how skewed the list is.
“The complaints are so much that the credibility of the list is put to question. We are working on those complaints,’’ he said.
In
his contribution, Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP-Taraba South) said that
there were laid down procedures for nominating career ambassadors.He
said, “what generates our concern is that the list is for career
ambassadors and not political ambassadors.
“I am in agreement with the issue raised and it should be treated holistically.’’
In
his remarks, President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, said that he
had equally received petitions from lawmakers and other Nigerians on the
omissions in the list.
He called on the committee on foreign
affairs to expedite action on the petitions, saying that screening would
be suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
“A number of senators have raised this observation and I have received a lot of petitions on this matter.
“If
we say they are career officers we must ensure that the process is
transparent, especially as they are going to be ambassadors.
“It
is important for the foreign affairs committee to invite the minister
and the SGF so that they can explain the processes that led to these
names before we begin to consider the nominations,’’ he said.
The
order was subsequently unanimously adopted by the lawmakers and the
committee was directed to report back to the senate in one week.
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