Another Nominee Turns Down Buhari’s Offer

SAN FRANCISCO, October 25, (THEWILL) – Prof. Akintunde Akinwande, Chairman-designate of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) may have declined the nomination offered him by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Akinwande was absent at the Senate screening session and failed to avail himself to the Department of State Services (DSS) for security checks while records of his credentials was not available before the senate which stalled the screening of the other nominees.

THEWILL gathered that Akinwande turned down the nomination because he was not consulted before the nomination was made as he is doing a project at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Chairman of Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy, Enyinnaya Abaribe told reporters that there was no way the screening could go on in the absence of the chairman-designate.

“Regrettably, when members of the committee assembled to screen the nominees made by President Muhammadu Buhari, we were told that the chairman designate was unavoidably absent. The Presidential liaison who brought the nominees informed us that the chairman was unavoidably absent,” Abaribe said

“There was no way the committee could go on with the screening without the chairman designate. Since the nomination was made over three months ago, the Presidency should have known whether the chairman designate would attend the screening or not.

“The commission is vital and cannot function without a chairman.

“We cannot screen them until we have a formal communication from the Presidency.”

Other nominees for the board appointment included Sanusi Garuba (Vice Chairman) Nathan R. Shatti (commissioner), Dr. Moses Arigu (commissioner), Dafe C. Akpeneye (commissioner), Prof. Frank Okafor (commissioner) and Musiliu O. Oseni (commissioner).

THEWILL recalls that Usman Bugaje, an ambassadorial nominee from Kastina state, has turned down his appointment by the President after Pauline Tallen, former Deputy Governor of Plateau state, turned it down as well.

Story by Oputah David.