The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday resorted to the use of a lamp on Tuesday following a power outage during the screening of the 46 non-career ambassadorial nominees sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari for legislative approval.
This drama played out at the venue of the screening when power supply to the New Building section of the National Assembly Complex went out.
The power outage, which occurred at 12:13pm when the sixth nominee was before the committee, lasted over one hour.
The power cut had affected legislative activities in the building as several committees holding budget defence sessions for ministries, departments and agencies suspended their activities until power was restored at about 1:15pm.
But the Committee on Foreign Affairs continued with the screening exercise, which forced its secretariat to put on a lamp for officials who were taking the minutes of the proceeding.
Cameramen from media organisations, who were not armed with lamps in anticipation of the blackout, were seen using their phones’ torchlight to provide light for their shots.
The nominees included politicians, retired military officers, retired judges, among others.
The lawmakers, however, stated that the nominees must meet certain criteria before their nominations could be confirmed by the legislature.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, in her opening address, disclosed that the panel, in its quest to select “those deemed fit and qualified to represent our country in the international arena,” had adopted some measures as its guiding principles during the screening exercise.
She listed the criteria as including appearance, composure and confidence as well as presentation of issues raised.
Others, she said, included special skills, knowledge of diplomacy and international relations, and knowledge of general and specific issues around the globe.
Sunmonu added, “The committee expects that your performance during the screening exercise would be commensurate with the assignment you are nominated for.
“Further, you should equally have in mind the dynamics of foreign policies and relations between nation states that require timely action on all matters affecting the wellbeing of Nigerians in all countries of the world. The Senate will ensure that it selects and confirms the best nominees that will represent Nigeria in the international arena to enable our country and citizens, respectively, compete favorably with other nations and citizens across the globe.”
Sunmonu hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for reviewing the first list of the nominees, which was rejected by the Senate.
She said, “You may recall that the earlier list of the 46 non-career ambassadorial nominees sent to the Senate for screening by the President on November 1, 2016, was received with protests from various quarters. The Senate, being sensitive to the genuine plea from Nigerians, at its plenary on November 9, 2016, unanimously resolved to return the list to Mr. President for scrutiny and representation to assuage the anxiety of Nigerians.
“President Muhammadu Buhari heeded the Senate’s advice by revisiting the initial list and coming up with the present one before us on January 17, 2017. It is the gracious response of Mr. President that culminated into this second ambassadorial screening exercise, the first being that of the career ambassadorial nominees.”
The senator stated that the screening exercise was in line with the provisions of Section 171, Sub-section 4 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which vested the power of confirmation of persons to be appointed as ambassadors of Nigeria to the Senate.
