MINISTERIAL SCREENING: DRAMA AS SENATORS GRILL MOHAMMED, AG. PDP CHAIRMAN

•Mohammed
At the resumed screening and confirmation of ministerial nominees on Tuesday, Senate President David Mark devolved the powers of his office to save the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Haliru Mohammed, from an impending embarrassment in the chamber.

Mark's deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, also intervened to rally Senators to accord Comrade Abba Moro, Mark's Campaign Director in the April polls, the honour of 'bow and go.'

Earlier, Mohammed, a Veterinary Surgeon, read his resume and told Senators that as the Acting Chairman, he, with his team, 'have tried as much as possible to entrench internal party democracy within the PDP.'

Drama started immediately after Mohammed presented his resume to Senators, who clamoured for him to 'bow and go,' a tradition accorded only former or serving members of the National Assembly.

The chamber became noisy and only became quiet until Mark repeatedly hit the gavel which signaled a call for silence and order.

Undeterred, a section of the chamber repeatedly called out that Mohammed should bow and go.

Mark refused and told his colleagues: 'Please, you have a good product , market your product.'

He urged Senators to allow Mohammed answer some questions. He recognised Senator Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara Central ANPP) to ask the first question.

Marafa looked Mohammed straight in the eye and asked him why '40 years after you were a commissioner when some of the nominees on this list were still in school, with due respect, when will you allow fresh air in Kebbi State?'

Once again, the chamber was agitated.
Former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights, Umaru Dahiru, raised a motion calling the attention of the Senate President to Marafa reading from a prepared text which is against the standing rules in the chamber.

Mark ruled on the motion and called on Marafa to continue with his questions. Quickly, former Chairman of the Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs Committee, Smart Adeyemi, raised another motion vice Order 53 (7).

Said Smart: 'The Senator used offensive language and it's offensive for him to have asked our Chairman when would he allow fresh air in Kebbi State.'

Rather than rule on the order, a bemused Mark chose to ask all the three Senators from Kebbi State whether Mohammed has not allowed fresh air in their State.

First, he called on Senator Atiku Abubakar Bagudu and asked: 'Is there any fresh air in Kebbi? Bagudu replied: 'He (Mohammed) is a breath of fresh air.

Next was Senator Mohammed Magoro who also replied in the affirmative and the third Senator, Isa Galaudu took it a notch further: 'There's fresh air in Kebbi State. In fact, the air is scented.'

Satisfied with that response, Mark said: 'As a mark of mutual respect for all the political parties and he, being the Acting National Chairman of our party, and it being the wish of our PDP Senators to ask him to bow and go, do we allow him to bow and go?'

A resounding 'aye' thundered in the chamber.
Quickly, Mohammed bowed before the Senate President and other Senators and left the chamber. Immediately he moved to step out, the chamber emptied after him. Senators jostled to escort him out of the chamber.

The same treatment was accorded the PDP National Auditor, Dr Samuel Ioraer Ortom, who admitted to being 'a tout at Gboko.'

He told Senators how he went back to school and rose to become a secretary of the state chapter of the PDP before his emergence on the national stage.

Ehigie Uzamere (Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Edo South) moved the motion for him to leave without answering any question.

'He was once a tout and rose to become somebody in life. This is somebody who knows what it means to be poor and he would work for the poor people of Nigeria.'

Senator Joshua Dariye (Labour, Plateau Central) concurred. 'If Nigerians are honest in displaying their credentials like this man, Nigeria would be a better place.

'I support that this man should bow and go.'
Mark's man also got the same treatment of bow and go.

Ekweremadu appealed to Senators 'to allow this nominee to bow and go' after Moro read out his curriculum vitae.

Senator Abba Ibrahim seconded the motion 'on account of his humble beginning.' Mark told Ortom to bow and leave the chamber.

A former Senator, Idris Umar from Gombe State enjoyed the same privilege.