GREAT BATTLE: Drama as Oliseh, Enyeama clash in Eagles camp

There was drama inside the Super Eagles camp late on Tuesday, when coach Sunday Oliseh ordered captain Vincent Enyeama out of camp in Belgium but the France-based goalkeeper was persuaded to remain with the team by the Nigeria Football Federation officials. Enyeama joined his national teammates in Belgium ahead of the two friendly games against Congo and Cameroon on Thursday and Sunday respectively but Oliseh was angry over the keeper’s late arrival to camp. The Lille keeper arrived camp after Monday’s deadline, having been reportedly permitted to report late following Saturday’s burial of his mother in AkwaIbom. But an angry Oliseh ordered Enyeama, who has 101 caps for Nigeria, out despite pleas from the keeper, who rose to apologise for coming late and wanted to give his reasons. Oliseh reportedly told Enyeama to shut up but the Eagles captain didn’t comply, which made the coach call on security operatives to get the keeper out of Hotel Verviers, the camp site of the Eagles. Oliseh then named CSKA Moscow forward, Ahmed Musa, the Eagles captain for the friendly matches. But officials of the NFF waded into the matter and persuaded Enyeama to remain in camp. “It’s true that there was a little misunderstanding in the camp of @NGSuperEagles, but the matter has been resolved. Enyeama remains in camp,” the NFF said on Twitter.

Protests as Saraki unveils Buhari’s ministerial list

PROTESTS at state levels greeted Tuesday’s announcement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees by the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki. Saraki at plenary announced 21 names as contained in the ministerial list sent to him on September 30, saying the screening of the nominees would commence on Tuesday, October 13. But from the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders came a petition to the Senate against the nomination of a former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola. Indeed, CACOL’s petition had been dated Saturday, October 3, asking the Senate not to confirm Fashola “should his name pop-up as a ministerial nominee.” In the petition signed by the CACOL’s executive head, Debo Adeniran, copies of which were sent to Buhari and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, the group urged the senators to visit Lagos, as governed by Fashola, before screening and confirming him for any appointment as a minister. “Visit the Lagos Fashola left behind before confirming his appointment as minister” is the title of the group’s petition in which read in part, “Howbeit, if the rumour making the rounds in some quarters, which has also been confirmed by some sections of the media, is anything to go by, we would say Nigerians’ hope for a true change has been dashed with the inclusion of some names that in a saner environment should not appear on the list, if integrity and honesty are the basis of the selection criteria. “We are therefore constrained at this point in time to bring to your attention our critical reaction to the rumoured nomination of the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, as a minister in the new government.” The group therefore catalogued a number of fraud and corruption allegations, most of which it had before now levelled against Fashola. Also, an anti-corruption group known as Integrity Group has petitioned the President and the Senate to protest the nomination of a former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, as a ministerial nominee. The group accused Amaechi of alleged fraudulent practices during his tenure as governor. The group urged Amaechi to first clear his name over “allegations of fraud concerning the sale of state power plants and conversion of proceeds of $302m, unlawful payment of over N4bn to Clinoriv Specialist Hospital and unlawful enrichment of a firm, Messrs Collect Nigeria Ltd. with public funds amounting to over N1.5bn.” Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, the Publicity Director of the group, Mr. Livingstone Wechie, alleged that Amaechi was currently being investigated by anti-corruption agencies for unlawful enrichment and conversion of over N70bn state resources. He added that the former governor had resisted efforts to make him to explain the circumstances regarding the money to the people of Rivers and that he failed to appear before the Justice Omereji-led Judicial Commission of Enquiry set up by Amaechi’s successor, Governor Nyesom Wike. In Oyo State, the ruling All Progressives Congress asked on Buhari to revisit his nomination of a legal practitioner, Adebayo Shittu, claiming that the ministerial-nominee was not a team player in the party. It was learnt that Governor Abiola Ajimobi was opposed to Shittu’s choice but the APC state secretary, Mojeed Olaoya, told one of our correspondents in Ibadan, the state capital, on Tuesday that the issue was between the nominee and the APC and not with the governor. Responding to the opposition of his candidacy, however, Shittu said he contributed to the success of the party and that he had nothing against Ajimobi. Olaoya said, “This is the party talking and not the governor. It was the party that wrote a letter to the governor asking him to convey our message on Shittu’s nomination to the President. We have published paid advertisement in the newspapers stating our position on Shittu’s matter.” The party stated that despite the state’s contribution to President Buhari’s victory at the poll, it was not being adequately compensated. It stated in the advertorial that Shittu’s nomination had further compounded the political challenges being faced by the party because of the nominee’s “unacceptability among the people.” Saraki said on Tuesday that the screening of the nominees, 21 in all, would commence on Tuesday, October 13. He said this during Senate plenary after reading out the names of the nominees. Spokesperson for the Senate, Dino Melaye, also told journalists shortly after plenary that the upper legislative chamber would in the interim called for the profiles and other documents on the nominees in order to ensure thorough screening. He said, “While we want to expedite action, we also want to be very diligent and thorough in the screening of the ministerial nominees. We want to ask for the citation and profile of the nominees so that senators can study the resume of the nominees and this will guide us in asking questions and guide our deliberations when we start the screening. “We want senators to have enough time to study submissions by the nominees so that relevant questions could be asked during the screening exercise. It is also from the Curriculum Vitae that we will be looking at possible portfolio that the President may be giving to the various nominees. “The screening exercise would be taken live on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and it would not be influenced by political or religious affiliations.” *-Fashola, Ogbeh, Amaechi…-* Earlier in plenary, the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, had unveiled the much awaited nominees, reading out names that had been correctly speculated in the media. Buhari’s 21 nominees, as read out by Saraki, include Abubakar Malami (SAN) (Kebbi); Abdurahman Bello Dambazzau (Kano); Aisha Jumai Al Hassan (Taraba); Alhaji Lai Mohammed (Kwara); Babatunde Raji Fashola (Lagos); Adebayo Shittu (Oyo); Solomon Dalong (Plateau); Senator Chris Ngige (Anambra); Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); and Chief Audu Ogbeh (Benue). Others are Mrs. Amina Ibrahim( Kaduna); Dr. Osagie Ehaneri (Edo); Emmanuel Kachukwu (Delta); Dr. Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Mr. Suleiman Adamu (Jigawa); Mrs. Kemi Adeosun (Ogun); Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu (Ebonyi); Ahmed Isa Ibeto (Niger); Ibrahim Usman Jibril ; Senator Hadi Sirika (Katsina); and Senator Udo Udoma (Akwa – Ibom). Saraki said the nominees would be screened during plenary on Tuesday. But the Minority Leader of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who raised a constitutional point of order noted that it was constitutionally wrong for Buhari to send 21 names as ministerial nominees, instead of 36. Saraki noted the observation of Akpabio and explained that the President had already noted in his letter that the complete list would soon be forwarded to the red chamber. *-Buhari not for screening-* Melaye denied reports that Buhari would be screened by the Senate since he had appointed himself as the petroleum minister. He said, “We are not going to screen President Buhari but ministerial nominees. The insinuation that he would be screened as minister of petroleum is baseless and untrue. It’s a product of imagination of people with inordinate ambition. Melaye, who said he could not ascertain whether the Senate had received any petition against the ministerial nominees, said all petitions received would be treated accordingly. “I cannot say how many petitions had been received. Petitions on nominees will form basis for the screening,” he said, adding however that the Senate would be able to do a better job if the President would furnish it with the expected portfolio of the nominees. *-Senators react-* Senator Jeremiah Useni, in an interview with journalists, said having only three women on the ministerial list was not good enough. “I wish to see more women on the list. I believe that the President will be more gender sensitive in the next batch since he said the 21 names he sent is a partial list,” he said. He also ruled out the possibility of giving special considerations to either serving or past members of the National Assembly whose names are on the list, saying “there is no rule on the issue of take a bow. The fact that the seventh Senate adopted a convention does not mean that the Eight Senate will adopt same.” But the Senator representing Delta North, Peter Nwaboshi, in an interview with journalists, expressed disappointment that the list contained names of older men and women who had served as ministers about 36 years ago. He said, “I think the youths of Nigeria should ask questions. How can people who served as ministers during the former President Shehu Shagari’s administration in 1979 be presented as ministers? I was a small boy when the particular nominee was minister about 36 years ago. You are bringing the person to be minister now. “One would have expected that the younger generation would have been injected into the list. I wonder where we are going to in this country. When will the youths be given opportunity? “We already know all the people in the list. They are governors who just finished their tenure after eight years. Is that the change they are talking about? It is left for Nigerians to judge. *-‘Buhari never told me I would be minister’-* A former Governor of Ekiti State, who is one of the ministerial nominees, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has described his nomination as a surprise. He told reporters at the national headquarters of the All Progressives Congress in Abuja on Tuesday that Buhari never gave him a hint about being nominated in spite of closeness to the President. The former governor served as the Director of Research and Strategy in the Buhari 2015 Campaign Organisation. In response to a question as to whether his nomination came to him as a surprise, Fayemi said, “Well, to the extent that I was not told by the President that I was going to be on his list, yes, it came as a surprise. The President is a surprise master; let me put it that way. “He did not tell anyone to the best of my knowledge and I would have thought that I was in vantage position to know more than others, I was with him for five days before then. “I was with him in New York at the United Nations General Assembly and he never uttered a word about his list to me nor to anyone else. “We came back to Nigeria together, I was with him up till 4pm on the evening he submitted the list to the President of the Senate and I didn’t have any clue of what is going to happen. So, to that extent, I was pleasantly surprised.” Another Ekiti ex-governor, Segun Oni, said Buhari had proved to all that he was not only a statesman but also a loyal party man. He said, “The President is a party member and his thinking is always along with the party and he has always been saying so. “You will know that the President, on his own, knows the party and he wants to involve the party as much as possible and he has done that. No one can complain now because you will see that the leaders that we will want to see are there and we are very grateful to the President.”

Troops arrest Boko Haram financier in Borno

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said on Tuesday that troops had arrested a financier of the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State. Usman said in a statement that that the man, identified as Mohammed Maina, was arrested in Bama with N1m cash on him. He said that the suspect was also a supplier of kola nuts and other stimulants to the insurgents. The Army spokesman said that the suspect, a native of Shuari Village in Bama Local Government Area, might have been collecting monetary contributions from Boko Haram sympathisers along the Maiduguri-Dikwa-Kulli axis of the state. “In a related development, troops have also intercepted and arrested a suspected Boko Haram financier and stimulants dealer, Mohammed Maina, in Bama, Bama Local Government Area of Borno State. “The suspect, a native of Ngurosoye, came from Shuari village in Bama LGA, and he was arrested with the sum of N1m cash and some items. “Investigation revealed that Mohammed supplies them kola nuts and other items especially stimulants. He further revealed that kola nuts are in high demand among the terrorists, as the product keeps them active at night. “It is apparent also that he plies Maiduguri-Dikwa- Kulli axis where he gathers monetary and other material contributions from Boko Haram sympathisers along that axis and send same to the terrorists camps,” the statement read in part. Usman stated also that the soldiers of the 112 Battalion and some Special Forces carried out a joint raid on Boko Haram’s camps at Bulungwa Naibe in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State on Monday and recovered some items from them. He stated also that several of the insurgents were killed in the operation. He said that the items recovered from them included “one Buffalo vehicle mounted with an anti-aircraft gun, a rocket-propelled grenade, two machine guns and one sub-machine gun, five AK-47, one Fabrique nationale rifle and two sewing machines used for sewing uniforms by the terrorists.” Usman also said that soldiers had arrested three suspected collaborators of the Boko Haram insurgents following the arrest of Maina. Usman said that Maina had been making useful statements which led to the arrest of the three suspected collaborators in Maiduguri. He gave the names of those arrested as Jikana Alhaji Goni, 29, Alhaji Musa Modu, 37, and Alhaji Aba’ana Na Sule, aged 40, all of Hausari Ward, Maiduguri. He said that those arrested were being interrogated by the military. He said, “Please recall that a Boko Haram financier, fund raiser and stimulant supplier, Mohammed Maina, was arrested by troops of 21 Brigade yesterday.” Meanwhile, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu- Gambari, on Tuesday urged security agencies and the Federal Government to smoke out all identified sponsors of Boko Haram insurgency in the country. Noting that terrorists had wrecked havoc in the country, he said he was hopeful that terrorism would soon come to an end as soon as the sponsors were identified. He spoke in an interview with members of the Correspondent Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. The Emir also advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to discard the report of the 2014 National Conference. He urged Buhari to begin the process of implementing the 2014 National Conference report and to restructure the country. Sulu-Gambari, who was a member of the confab, said Nigeria needed restructuring to accelerate its growth. He urged Buhari to pass the report as a bill to the National Assembly so that it would form part of the nation’s constitution and law. He said, “The law is made for the people and people are not made for the law. The Nigerian people have gathered for a purpose and the people have spoken through their representatives. So, the parliament would have to endorse it for necessary criteria that had been drawn up in the constitution. “Having done that, it will now be passed as a bill and the people of Nigeria can now say they have given unto themselves a constitution. The one given to us by the military was not by the people of this country. “The military only gave us that one to guide and rule us. Men are not supposed to be made for the law, but rather, laws are supposed to be made for man. Men should be supreme. “The constitution is the highest norm or law in the land so that whatever may happen since we are still in the period of restructuring, probably the document gathered during the confab should be looked into as part of documents for restructuring. I believe it should not be thrown into the dustbin.” The Emir urged journalists to be socially responsible at every critical moment in their reportage. He added that they should through their reportage protect the corporate existence of Nigeria, and avoid any report that could undermine the corporate existence of the country. He also said he was excited that the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, is from Kwara State. He added that Saraki will render quality service for national growth and unity. He said, “We have gone far enough as a country. And we should see anything that happens as part of happenings of something in the embryo or still growing because we are still growing with a lot to learn from our mistakes. We should not stop existing as a country. “Your job should be tailored towards securing peace and harmony in the country, alongside other responsibilities of educating, informing and entertaining people. Without peace, you cannot do all these. We pray God to continue to give us peace and put an end to Boko Haram attacks in the country.”

Maiduguri Sunday explosions, equipment testing – Military

The 7 Division of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri on Sunday said the early morning explosion in the outskirt of Maiduguri, Borno State, emanated from routine testing of military equipment. Speaking to newsmen on Sunday, spokesman for the Division, Col. Tukur Gusau, urged residents not to panic. “It is a routine test firing of our weapons to ensure that they are in a state of readiness,” he said.

We have clues on Boko Haram sponsors – Army

The Nigerian Army said on Sunday that no amount of distractions would deter it from ending terrorism in Nigeria by December. Theater Commander, Operation “Lafiya Dole,” Maj.-Gen. Yushau Abubakar, gave this assurance while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Maiduguri. Abubakar was reacting to recent spate of suicide bombings by suspected insurgents in some parts of the country. He pointed out that the bombings were aimed at diverting the attention of the military from achieving its target in the ongoing anti-terrorism war. “I want to assure all that for every second that passes, we get more committed to fighting the insurgents; we cannot be deterred. “We are doing as much as we could to ensure that we completely eradicate the insurgents as quickly as possible because we are aware of the timeline within which to complete the task,” he said. He said the military had already gotten clues about those involved in the recent suicide bombings in Maiduguri. “We searched the houses and certain items that we recovered at the vicinity gave us some clues,” Abubakar said. He said although investigations had commenced on the clues, it would take time before reaching a conclusion. “Investigation on those that we suspect that are either participating or hiding, fueling or conniving with those that carried out those acts, is ongoing. “They will be exposed in due course,” Abubakar assured. He appealed to Nigerians to be security conscious to avoid future occurrence. “The citizens need to know that security is their personal responsibility as individuals. “They must be able to secure themselves and doing so means they need to be security conscious. “Any suspicious movement within the environment should be reported to security agents immediately,” he advised. Abubakar said the military was working on a strategy that would enable individuals pass vital information to security agents without being noticed.

Everything must be done to rescue Chibok girls — US

The United States has urged the Federal Government and its citizens to do everything possible to ensure the safe return of the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted from their school hostel in Chibok, Borno State. The Nigerian Military had on Thursday, stated that it would not be in a hurry to rescue the Chibok girls who were abducted in April 2014. The Acting Director, Defence Information, Military Headquarters, Col. Rabe Abubakar, said that while it was of utmost concern to the military to rescue the girls, the operation required adequate patience and planning. According to the US acting Consul General, Dehab Ghebreab, who spoke at the red-carpet première of the Hollywood crime-drama thriller, ‘Captive’, in Lagos State recently, the US government would stand against individuals and groups, who target people for violence, persecution or discrimination based on their religion. She said, “Nigeria has its share of humanitarian problems with Internally Displaced People due to the vicious atrocities of Boko Haram. In 2014, the United States provided about $11 million for humanitarian assistance to Nigeria and we continue to support Nigeria to crush Boko Haram. On this day (Thursday), the Chibok girls have been missing for 535 days. Everything humanly possible must be done to ‘Bring Back the Girls’.” She also expressed the US’ commitment to end extreme poverty in Nigeria and other African countries. The consul general noted that the US had the knowledge and technology necessary to end extreme poverty within two decades. “There is progress upon which to build; aggregate poverty rates are now falling for every region of the world, and there are 700 million fewer people living in extreme poverty today than in 1990. However, even with this progress, 1.2 billion people are still living in extreme poverty and the majority live in Africa,” the US diplomat added.

Twitter user who predicted Abuja attacks deletes account

A Twitter user, Chima Okoro, who predicted the attacks in Abuja on Friday on the social networking site, has deactivated his account. Okoro, with @chimaokoro63 as his username on Twitter, between 8.34 am and 9.12 am on October 1, had repeatedly posted: “I pray for Nigeria: there will be a bomb blast in Abuja &Lagos, Boko Haram is going to attack and kill police_army &_ Navy their evils (sic).” In the profile picture of the account, which was captured by other users before the user deactivated it, a young man of dark complexion is seen slouching in a room with cream-coloured walls, dressed in a red T-shirt, while holding up a mobile phone in his left hand and smiling to the camera. Checks on Twitter revealed that other users had started raising the alarm about Okoro’s tweets as early as 10 pm on Friday. One user, Eduozor Henrie, at 10:47 pm, said, “@Omojuwa @toluogunlesi @ogundamisi, please guys see the timeline of @chimaokoro63… worrying. He tweeted this yesterday.” Another user, @md_oyereyi at 11:31 pm, said, “The attention of the DSS and other security agencies should be called to this… @Ifyduoz @Omojuwa @toluogunlesi @ogundamisi.” Debo Oduola, at 11:32 pm, said, “@Ifyduoz @toluogunlesi @Omojuwa @ogundamisi @chimaokoro63 he should be arrested asap,” while Dame Jayla Peperempe, in her reaction (11:03 pm), said, “Hmmm this is all he tweeted yesterday.” Ogundana Michael (11:16 pm) said, “Who is this that tweeted this? He tweeted this just yesterday!” and Dogoh Orduen @MackDogoh (11:18 pm) expressing disbelief, said, “@MickeySunny @chimaokoro63 you are kidding me!!!”

Abuja blasts: 20 dead, 41 injured, says FG

The Federal Government has confirmed the death of 20 persons, with 41 others injured from the Abuja blasts. The government also advocated for inter-agency collaboration in emergency situations in the country. The Director of Family Planning in the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Wapada Balami, said these at a press briefing in Abuja. Balami, who is also acting Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said, “In the Kuje bomb blast, a total number of 15 persons have been recorded dead and at the Nyanya bomb blast, a total number of five persons have been recorded. “The total number of injured persons hospitalised by the first responders are as follows: in Kuje, a total of twenty persons and in Nyanya, a total of 21 persons.” He further said hospitals in which the injured persons were admitted had exhibited professionalism, while patients were being given the best treatment. Balami noted that combined team work of the agencies would continue to work in partnership to reduce the rate of insecurity. He stated that families of the affected have been contacted. “Inter-agencies collaboration will continue to work in partnership to prevent future occurrences,” he added. However, the government on Saturday insisted that it was defeating the insurgents and maintained that before the end of December, the sect will be wiped out of Nigeria. Lawal said, “We want to encourage Nigerians not to despair because we know the insurgents are being defeated and they are on their death row, which is why they are clutching at souls to discourage Nigerians. “But as the President has directed and as the security agents have assured, come December, we would have gotten rid of this menace.” In his reaction, the CDS, Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin, said security operatives would start to reappraise their strategies and regretted that the insurgents were now hitting soft targets. He said, “Let me also add to what the SGF has said; that we commiserate with the families of those who have lost their dear ones. “And as for the security agencies, we will begin to reappraise our security infrastructure and set up to ensure that we are able to address this challenge appropriately. “Of course, we are really sad that these insurgents have decided to be hitting on soft targets, but we are not deterred in our efforts to rid them out of this nation Nigeria. “We are working according to the President’s directive and we are putting all actions and strategy in place to ensure that we achieve the Presidential directive.” The CP, FCT, Wilson Inalegwu, urged Nigerians “to remain calm and vigilant especially in public places.” He added that, “Three civilians sustained injuries. There was no casualty from the military.

Pope expels gay priest from Vatican

The Vatican, on Saturday, fired a senior priest, Krzysztof Charamsa, who publicly came out as gay on the eve of a major meeting of church leaders to discuss the Church’s stance on social issues such as divorce and homosexuality. A statement by a spokesman for Pope Francis described the Polish priest’s action as “very serious and irresponsible,” adding that he would be immediately sacked from his post as a theologian in the Vatican. The statement read, “The decision to make such a pointed statement on the eve of the opening of the synod appears very serious and irresponsible, since it aims to subject the synod assembly to undue media pressure.” Charamsa, who is a mid-level official in the Vatican bureaucracy’s dealing with church doctrine, flanked by his Spanish boyfriend while donning his priest’s collar, on Saturday, had earlier told a news conference in Rome that he was compelled to speak out against the “hypocrisy and paranoia” that he said had shaped the Church’s attitude to sexual minorities. The 43-year-old priest said, “I’m out of the closet, and I’m very happy about that. I want to be an advocate for all sexual minorities and their families who have suffered in silence.” He presented a 10-point “liberation manifesto” against “institutionalised homophobia in the Church,” which he said particularly oppressed the gay men who, according to him, make up the majority of priests. He also revealed plans for a book about his 12 years at the heart of a Vatican bureaucracy, only just recovering from a scandal under previous Pope Benedict XVI over the influence of a “gay lobby” among senior clergy.

Screening: Ministerial nominees lobby senators

There are strong indications that ministerial nominees, whose names were sent to the Senate on Wednesday, have started reaching out to senators ahead of their screening by the upper chamber. Our correspondent learnt on Saturday that some of the nominees, including former governors, had sought the support of the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki and other senators. It was gathered that the nominees were wary of the hard stand senators could take against them during the screening that would start this week. It was learnt that they have been pleading for soft landing during the screening, which the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, had confirmed would start on Wednesday. A senator from the North Central, who craved anonymity, said he was aware that some nominees had reached out the senate president and other members of the upper chamber. The senator, who declined to name those who had reached out to him, said he did not think that his colleagues would give any nominees a tough time during screening. On the alleged plot by some senators from the Peoples Democratic Party controlled states of Ekiti and Rivers to kick against the clearance of the ministerial nominees from their states whose names had been published in the media, the senator said that would be handled by the senate leadership. He said, “Don’t forget that several precedents on similar issues had been set by the Seventh Senate when the then Senate President, David Mark, ignored protests by senators from Lagos, and Osun, against the nomination of two ministerial nominees and went ahead to clear them.” Another senator from the North-East geopolitical zone, also confirmed to our correspondent on condition of anonymity that there were moves by the senate leadership to settle the face-off between it and the Presidency with the clearance of ministerial nominees. He said, “Definitely we have to move the nation forward. If the President is saying that these are the people that I have picked, after a painstaking process, who could work with me, why should we deliberately constitute ourselves as stumbling blocks? “Although some of them may have issues with their stewardship while they held sway as governors, the question is, is anyone among them being investigated by any anti – graft agency? “Nobody is a saint. I am not one either. The senate president had appealed to us that we should jettison politics of vendetta in the screening of the ministerial nominees and I am prepared to heed his advice. “Personally I will play my part by asking relevant questions and responses to them would make Nigerians know that we are not clearing the wrong persons at the end of the exercise” *-Nobody will play politics with screening – Akanbi-* In his own reaction, the APC member representing Oyo South Senatorial District, Senator Adesoji Akanbi, said no senator would play politics with the screening of the ministerial nominees in the overall interest of Nigerians. Although Akanbi neither denied nor confirmed whether any of the nominees or their godfathers had reached out to him, he said, “The fact that some of the people whose names had been published in the media have been reaching out, is a possibility in politics” He added, “Nobody in his right senses will deliberately play politics with a sensitive issue like the screening of ministers. This is not the time for anybody to say he wants the legislature to hit back at the executive or the presidency over the current relationship between the two tiers of government. “I am not saying that we should not do our jobs as lawmakers, what I am saying is that we should not deliberately frustrate the clearance of ministerial nominees, that does not also mean that those who fall short of expectation in glaring circumstances should not be dropped” *-We will ask them questions on morals — Melaye-* Meanwhile, the senate spokesperson, Dino Melaye, in an interview with our correspondent on the issue, urged Nigerians to await the reading of the list by the senate president before expecting the official reaction of the upper chamber. He, however said that, “Questions for the nominees won’t be based on their educational qualifications alone but will also on their morals, character and antecedents because we won’t allow Nigerians to accuse the Senate of approving somebody with questionable character as President Buhari’s minister” It will be recalled that Saraki, had on Tuesday, last week, pledged that his leadership would not employ vendetta in the screening of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s wise men. Saraki had said, “As we await the list of ministerial nominees this week, I believe the presence of ministers will create the space for greater policy engagement with the Executive Arm of government.” However, the senate spokesperson, Senator Dino Melaye, told journalists after plenary last week Tuesday that the screening of ministerial nominees would not be business as usual in the 8th Senate. He had said, “We are eagerly waiting for the ministerial list from Mr. President and we want to assure Nigerians that as soon as we get this ministerial list we would start working on them expeditiously but diligently.