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| Musiliu Obanikoro |
The
Senate on Wednesday failed to screen former Minister of State for Defence
Senator Musiliu Obanikoro over allegations that he participated in a meeting to
rig Ekiti state governorship election last year.
The
former minister who resigned his appointment to contest for the Lagos State
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship ticket in December lost out to
Jimi Agbaje.
The
senate commenced screening of the nominees on Wednesday where four of them
including Senator Patricia Akwashiki (Nasarawa), Professor Nicholas Akise Ada
(Benue), Col. Augustine Okwudiri Akobundu (Abia), and Eng. Fidelis Nwankwo
(Ebonyi) were screened.
Obanikoro’s
name was listed as number six on the senate order paper but the lawmakers adjourned
further screening to next week Wednesday.
Before
commencing the screening exercise, the senate had held a closed-door meeting
for almost two hours during which pressure was reportedly mounted by Senate President, David Mark on his colleagues to confirm the former minister but they
remained adamant.
President
Goodluck Jonathanhad re-nominated Obanikoro as minister representing Lagos State along with seven others who are to replace former ministers that went to
contest for governorship election last year.
However,
the former lawmaker who was in the senate between 2003-2007 ran into troubled
waters after an army Capt. Sagir Koli released an audio recording in which
Obanikoro was heard allegedly perfecting plans to rig the Ekiti election
together with Police Affairs Minister Abdulili Adesiyan and now Governor Ayo
Fayose and a Nigerian Army Brigadier General Aliyu Momoh.
Last
week, senators of the opposition, All Progressives Congress (APC) held a press
conference where they vowed to stop his confirmation by the senate insisting
that there are court cases against him pending before a Lagos High Court and
confirming him will be sub-judice.
They
also petitioned the Senate President, David Mark with all the three senators
from Lagos State signing the petition opposing his confirmation.
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