By Ismail Mudashir, Muideen Olaniyi, Musa Abdullahi Krishi, Ronald Mutum & Ozibo Ozibo | Published Date 
Uncertainty over principal
officers
A total of 21 ministerial
nominees have been cleared by Department of State Services (DSS), multiple
sources told News Online.
The clearance by the intelligence
agency comes ahead of today’s resumption of the two chambers of the National
Assembly from their recess.
It was further gathered that list
of the nominees would be transmitted to the Senate for screening and
confirmation in line with the 1999 Constitution soon.
The presidency had severally
pledged to Nigerians that the constitution of the Federal Executive
Council (FEC) won’t be delayed this time around. In 2015, it took the
president six months to send the list of his ministerial nominees to the
Senate.
Security and presidency sources
confirmed to Daily Trust that the DSS has cleared a total of 21 of the
nominees.
A security source, who spoke anonymously, said
the vetting is being conducted discreetly in order not to jeopardize or
politicize the process.
It was gathered that the DSS
Department of vetting, headed by a deputy director was in charge of the vetting
of the nominees. A source close to the presidency, said so far 21 nominees have
been cleared by the DSS from different states.
The source said, however, that
while there was an official communication by the DSS to the presidency on the
clearance of 14 of the nominees, that of seven of them was yet to be officially
communicated.
“The screening has been going on
since about four weeks ago. Based on what I know, there were no issues with
most of the nominees invited by the DSS. I know that 21 of them have been
cleared so far. Out of that number, 14 have their clearance communications with
the presidency.
“But the official communication
for seven of them has not reached the presidency yet, although they have been
cleared. If you add the two together, that gives you 21 nominees that have
been cleared so far,” the source said.
Asked about when the National
Assembly would get the ministerial list, the source said it would not exceed
the next two weeks. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF),
Boss Mustapha, recently said in an interview that President Muhammadu Buhari’s
cabinet will become a reality in July after the National Assembly resumes from
its recess.
“They’re still working on some of
the names of the nominees from the states. The final list of all the nominees
should be ready this week. But I doubt if the Senate will get it this week. It
may have to be next week or in the next two weeks,” the source said.
Among those cleared, Daily Trust
gathered, were some immediate past ministers. Two of the former ministers have
intimated their aides of their
clearance, it was gathered.
The president had on May 28
dissolved the federal cabinet and but his key aides including the SGF, Chief of
Staff, Abba Kyari, among others, have continued to discharge their duties
without being reappointed.
How DSS is screening nominees It was learnt
that a confidential list of candidates was submitted to the DSS. The agency
then carried out background checks on each of the candidate. The intelligence
agency also requested the candidates to submit curriculum vitae (CV), which it
then vetted to confirm if there is conflicting information or false claims.
“Sometimes we even send our
officers to listed schools and work places to confirm the veracity of the
details contained in the CV.
“Often institutions and organizations
receive written requests from the Service with enquiries about candidates being
vetted,” the source said.
It was gathered that weeks ago
some of the nominees were individually invited to the headquarters of the DSS
for an interview, for face to face verification or clarifications.
Our correspondent further
gathered that the DSS had written their findings on some of the nominees to the
presidency for necessary action. Uncertainty over principal officers
News Online learnt that as the
two chambers of the National Assembly resume today, there is still uncertainty
as to who gets what with regards to various principal officers.
Sources said both the APC and PDP
have reached an advanced stage in picking those that would form the principal
officers for both majority and minority parties. But it was learnt there was no
final decision yet on both sides.
At the Senate, it is not yet
clear who will become Senate Leader as Senators Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa) and
Yayaha Abdullahi (Kebbi) are said to be considered for the seat.
Other positions, namely Senate
Chief Whip, Deputy Senate Leader and Deputy Chief Whip are still unclear.
As for the PDP leadership in the
Senate, the party had settled on Sen Eyinnaya Abaribe (Abia) as Minority
Leader, Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba) as Deputy Minority Leader and Clifford Odia as
Deputy Minority Whip. But the party was said to be considering replacing Odia
with Sahabi Ya’u from Zamfara State.
Doguwa will be House leader –
Oshiomhole In the House of Representatives, the APC National Chairman Adams
Oshiomhole announced yesterday that ex-Chief Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa, being
the most ranking member from the Northwest, will be the House Leader.
Speaking when a delegation led by
the Kano State Deputy Governor, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, visited him in Abuja
yesterday, Oshiomhole said: “To whom much is given, much is expected.
Kano has given us a lot as a party, has given a lot to our president and we
must therefore reciprocate.
“This is the sentiment that
formed the idea of zoning the leadership of the House to Kano and of course,
you will also realise that the gentleman who happens to be my namesake as far
as my collation goes, is the most senior ranking member in the House of
Representatives.
“By going with this tradition,
people will realise the benefits of loyalty, consistency and of team spirit.
When people learn from that, Nigerian democracy will mature much more. I have
no doubt whatsoever.”
But Oshiomhole was silent on
other principal officers’ positions in the House.
A source said a meeting held
last night and the names of principal officers of the House may be announced
today. He however said “The list being paraded in media reports and on social
media are just speculations, and the APC National Working Committee (NWC) has
said so.”
The source added that it would be
premature to expect the announcement of the names of the principal officers
today. He, however, explained that underground consultations and lobbying by
lawmakers are still ongoing.
But a member of the committee,
Abubakar Yunusa (APC, Gombe), said: “It’s the intention of 9th Assembly to be
mindful of the machinery that brought it in. We have a platform, a political
party, which brought us into office. What the speaker has promised to do in
terms of the opposition is a statement of fact.”
Another member, Bamidele Salam,
(PDP, Osun, said the office and seats were ready as at the time of filling this
report. “I want to believe that the resumption on Tuesday is not threatened.
Mr. Speaker is a man of his words and I believe he will deliver on all the
commitments he made during the campaigns.”
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Read more at: https:// http://insidekoginews.blogspot.com