By John Alechenu, Abuja
The Senate has dismissed allegations that it collected a $10 million bribe to halt the screening and confirmation of President Bola Tinubu’s nominee for the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Mr Abdullahi Garba Ramat.
A former Special Adviser to ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Alwan Hassan, had alleged that the 10th Senate, under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio, received the said amount to frustrate Ramat’s confirmation.
The Senate had earlier suspended the confirmation process to allow for investigations into petitions filed against the nominee by stakeholders and concerned members of the public.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, dismissed the bribery allegation, describing it as baseless and unfounded.
Adaramodu, in a statement issued in Abuja late Friday, explained that the Senate decided to suspend action on the screening and confirmation of Abdullahi Garba Ramat due to “a baggage of public and private complaints against his nomination.”
He recalled that there had been several instances where nominees were stepped down following public outcry, urging Nigerians not to be misled by false claims of bribery.
According to the statement:“The attention of the Senate has been drawn to the uncoordinated cacophony of one innocuous Alwan Hassan, who is a hand-tool to Mr Abdullahi Garba Ramat. Refreshing the memories of Nigerians, Mr Ramat is the yet-to-be-confirmed Chief Executive of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Mr Alwan has ludicrously alleged that the Senate was compromised by yet-to-be-disclosed ghosts to reject the nomination and confirmation of Mr Ramat.
For the unsuspecting public not to be persuaded by the satanic verses of this political feckless mercenary, the Senate wishes to state that Mr Garba Ramat has a baggage of public and private complaints against his nomination.
The Senate is statutorily bound to halt action on any nominee under such public questioning. Many nominees have been stepped down due to similar public outcry.
The case of Mr Ramat is not an exception. No one can drag the institution of the National Assembly into public opprobrium with unfounded allegations in an attempt to arm-twist the legislature. Nigerians deserve appointees who undergo thorough screening, not those who seek to bully their way through blackmail.
The Senate will engage Mr Alwan in court to provide Nigerians with proof of his assertions. The Senate is an institution of noble Nigerians that respects the views, opinions, complaints, and compliments of citizens through legislative oversight and other constitutional functions.
We do not know, and had no prior encounter with, Mr Ramat until his nomination came for screening. The Senate is, however, bound to listen to and consider any issues raised against him by the people he was nominated to serve.”
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