The All Progressives Congress, APC, Senate caucus rose from its meeting last night with a resolve to back the embattled immediate past governor of Rivers State, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, when he appears before the Senate for screening as a minister. They equally vowed to utilize their slim majority over their Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, counterparts to swing votes in Amaechi’s favour should there be a division in the Senate over his confirmation.
Speaking on the outcome of the caucus meeting, an APC senator anonymously told ThisDay that: “We are determined not to allow the PDP stop the confirmation of Amaechi. We are determined to ensure that he is confirmed because there is no reason for him not to be confirmed.
“The committee will recommend that since the matter is before a court of law, Amaechi should not be screened. If the Senate wants to, it can go ahead to screen him but that’s what the committee will recommend,” the source said.
The lawmaker however explained that the recommendation of a committee is not necessarily binding as it is subject to intense debate among members after which the Senate will arrive at a resolution by a simple majority through a voice vote.
If the recommendation is adopted by a simple majority, it will be binding, but if rejected, it will be thrown out.
It is on this basis that Senate President Bukola Saraki may deem it necessary to defer Amaechi’s screening till Wednesday.
He said the rational is to ensure that other ministerial nominees who have no issues are screened without incident before the chamber addresses Amaechi’s screening the day after, as it is likely to be contentious given the divisions between senators from the ruling APC and their colleagues in the PDP regarding his nomination as a minister.
DAILY POST
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