THE lawmaker representing Rivers South-East senatorial district, Senator Olaka Nwogu, has said that senators, especially those from Rivers State, will not antagonise or victimise the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, should he (Amaechi) appear before the Senate for ministerial screening.
There are speculations that the former governor’s name was among the 21 names sent to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the screening expected to begin later this week.
It will be recalled that Amaechi, who is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and the leader of the party in the state, had come under intense criticism by the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.
Recently, the former governor was criticised by the PDP for refusing to appear before a judicial commission of inquiry set up by Governor Nyesom Wike over the sale of some assets belonging to Rivers.
Amaechi alleged that the panel was set up to victimise him.
The three senators representing Rivers State are from the PDP; a party that had insisted that Amaechi should appear before the panel to defend himself.
Speaking in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Saturday, Nwogu explained that though the senators would ask the ministerial nominees questions where necessary, Amaechi would not be singled out for any form of victimisation.
According to the lawmaker, “If there are questions to be asked, we, as senators, will ask questions. But at the same time, we shall not be against anybody.
“We will not single out Amaechi for any treatment different from what others will go through. We will not go with any element of bias.”
He pointed out that a ministerial nominee would be approved by the Senate if senators believed that he/she would do a good job as a minister.
Nwogu, however, stated that the National Assembly would not hesitate to reject a nominee that would not be able to carry out the responsibility of a minister after being appointed.
He promised that the National Assembly would not disappoint Nigerians during the screening, adding that the senators will do their best for the country.
“If we think that you as a ministerial nominee will do a good job, we will support you. On the other hand, if we think that you will not do a good job, we will insist.
“But we will not embark on a witch-hunt against anybody. We will not antagonise anybody. We will do our best for the country,” Nwogu maintained.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government and the Peoples Democratic Party in the state said they would prefer to keep mum on speculations that the name of Amaechi was on the ministerial list handed over to the Senate by the President.
The Media Assistant to Wike, Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu, told our correspondent that the state government would take a position after the Senate must have read out the list on Tuesday.
Nwakaudu explained that everything about the content of the ministerial list would be mere speculation until it is read out by the Senate.
“Let the list be read first; if the list comes out, we will formerly take a position on that. Every other thing we see now is a mere speculation,” he stressed.
Similarly, the state PDP Deputy Publicity Secretary, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, said the party would, as usual, be very thorough in its position on whether Amaechi’s name appeared on the list or not, but would have to wait until the Senate reads out the list on Tuesday.
“When they (Senate) read out the list, we (PDP) will react. We are always thorough when we take a position on an issue. They said it is the Senate that will disclose the content of the list and that will be on Tuesday. We are waiting for them to do that,” Nwanosike added.
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