NIGERIAN Senators on Tuesday, March 28, threatened to reject all list of appointees that President Muhammadu Buhari sent to the Senate for confirmation. The lawmakers, in protest, stood down the executive request of the president for the confirmation of a list of 27 regional executives of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The senators were said to be angry that Buhari is keeping on Ibrahim Magu as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, even after being rejected by lawmakers. They also took offense at comments credited to Itse Sagay, a professor of law and the president’s close aide, who said confirmation by the Senate was just a ‘mere’ duty. But the senators argued that if the constitution did not deem the confirmation necessary, it would not have stated it out clearly. Hence, the senators argued that the president should do as he wished with the nominees since he had chosen to flout the laws on Magu.

Notwithstanding, Bukola Saraki, Senate president, pleaded with the senators and urged them to just stand down the confirmation of the appointments for a week until things were sorted out. The senators accepted not to throw out the list after Ike Ekweremadu, deputy Senate president, also pleaded with them to accept Saraki’s recommendation.

They, however, resolved to stand down the confirmation for two weeks instead of one proposed by Saraki.

Some of the senators that argued for the motion to suspend the confirmation of the regional electoral officers included Peter Nwaoboshi, Sam Anyanwu and Francis Alimikhena. Mohammed Adamu Aliero who opposed the motion, failed to convince his colleagues on the importance of going ahead with the confirmation of the INEC nominees.

—  Mar 28, 2017 @ 18:20 GMT

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