The Senate has warned nominees for the leadership of three Federal Government institutions, whose names were recently announced, against resuming work until their nominations are confirmed.
The upper chamber of the National Assembly alleged that Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, in his former capacity as Acting President during the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari, who was away on medical vacation in London, gave the nominees the directive to resume, pending the confirmation of their appointments.
According to the chamber, the directive is illegal.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, in a statement on Saturday night, said the affected nominees included Ali Usman, who was nominated as Director General of the Pension Commission; Dr. Mohammed Isah, nominated as Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau; and Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, the nominee for Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
The statement read, “The leadership of the Senate has been inundated by enquiries from individuals across the country, who want to know whether the statement from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to the effect that the nominees into the headship of PenCom, the CCB and ICPC should resume work immediately, pending their confirmation by the Senate, was as a result of an understanding between the executive and the legislature.
“We will like to advise the Acting President, who was quoted to have given the directive for the resumption of the nominees, that the directive was illegal and not right. The Senate will not support any action that is not in line with the law.
“We advise the nominees to hold on until they are cleared by the Senate as required by the law before resuming in their respective offices. We do not want anything that will cause any problem between the executive and the legislature.”
The Senate, in protest, had suspended further consideration and confirmation of appointments by the Presidency until the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, whose nomination was rejected by the lawmakers, was replaced.
The lawmakers had also frowned on comments by Osinbajo that Section 171 of the Constitution empowered the president to make some appointments without seeking legislative confirmation by the Senate.
