The decision of the Nigerian Senate to request the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to withdraw his statement regarding the power of the Senate to screen and confirm some appointments made by the President may have thrown the Presidency into confusion as key players including the Acting President, the Attorney General of the Federation, Malami and Garba Shehu have continued to disagree.
On Tuesday, the Senate suspended further screening and confirmation of all appointments made by the President until the Acting President withdraws a statement credited to him that the National Assembly lacks the powers to confirm nominations from the President.
Reacting to the issues, the AGF on Wednesday said the Acting President made the comment in his individual capacity and not on behalf of the President, stressing that the decision was not that of the Federal Executive Council.
“The fundamental consideration about the alleged statement is the fact that at no point ever did the Federal Executive Council sit down to arrive at the decision in one-way or the other as far as the issue of nomination or otherwise is concerned. So, I do not think it constitutes an issue for the Federal Executive Council to make any clarification about because it has never been considered by the FEC”
Similarly, the Senior Special Assistant to President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said the Acting President's statement was his personal opinion.
He stated this on Wednesday while interacting with newsmen in Abuja. “Our understanding is that some remarks made by the Acting President some months ago when he was the Vice-President, because the President was around at that time, an opinion he gave is being misconstrued.
“A senior lawyer in the country offered an opinion, in which he said some categories of public officers, traditionally cleared by the National Assembly, need not go through that process, that those ones can be appointed through presidential fiat; they don’t have to go through screening. But several months ago, in his position as Vice-President, Prof. Osinbajo gave a personal opinion, saying what this lawyer said makes sense.”
He added that “There is no official position by the government of Nigeria, and the Federal Executive Council never sat down to take a decision to say that some categories of officials will not be sent to the National Assembly any longer. The authority of the Senate, under the Constitution to screen and pass nominees, has never been questioned by the government or the Federal Executive Council.
Shehu further hinted that “from the time the Vice-President gave that opinion till now, more than 20 nominations have been forwarded to the Senate and quite a number of them have been screened, sworn in and are now occupying positions.
“Therefore, this is not a big issue as some people want to make it. The party, government and the National Assembly will sit at a round table and this matter will be discussed and resolved,” Shehu added.
Meanwhile, the Presidency has moved to clear the confusion arising from the disagreement resulting from the conflicting statements issued by the trio. On Wednesday, the Presidency via its Twitter handle @NGRPresident posted that “The Attorney-General’s point is that decisions on Presidential nominations are matters for the Presidency & not the Fed Executive Council”. The handle added that “Basic fact: Appointments & Nominations are not a matter for FEC. They are purely presidential issues.”
