Tension as Senate defers Obanikoro's screening

Senate yesterday, commenced screen­ing of President Goodluck Jona­than's ministerial nominees after meeting behind closed doors for over two hours.

Rather than commence ple­nary, members went into an executive session and upon re­sumption, screened only four of the eight nominees listed on the Order Paper.

The ministerial nominees screened yesterday were Sen­ator Patricia Naomi Akwashi­ki (Nasarawa State); Professor Nicholas Akise Ada (Benue State), Colonel Augustine Akobundu (Abia State) as well as Mr. Fidelis Nwankwo from Ebonyi State.

Shortly after progress re­port from the Committee of the Whole, Senate President, David Mark adjourned ple­nary till next Tuesday.

Checks by Daily Sun re­vealed that behind closed doors, All Progressives Con­gress (APC) senators insisted that the Lagos State ministe­rial nominee and former Min­ister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, should explain his role in the audio tape related to the Au­gust 2014 Ekiti State gover­norship poll.

The 'bow and go tradition' was accorded Senator Akwa­shiki, who was first on the list of the ministerial nominees that were screened yesterday.

It was also gathered that deferment of the screening of Obanikoro as a minister was to enable a Lagos court rule on a case before it tomorrow and be­cause screening him yesterday would have been subjudice.

Meanwhile, one of the screened nominees, Prof. Ada, has stressed the need for Ni­geria to re-visit the Teachers Training Education System with a view to laying a solid foundation for educational ca­reers of Nigeria.

Arguing that a solid house is based on a solid foundation, he asserted that 'if the foundation is not strong enough, the su­perstructure cannot be strong' and blamed poor quality of ed­ucation in the country on lack of qualified teachers.

On his part, retired Col. Akobundu canvassed restora­tion of communication gadgets laced toll-gates in the high­ways, as a means of check­ing security challenges in the country and strengthening of maritime security to check menace of oil theft in the high seas.