Senate Refuse To Screen Festus Keyamo
The Nigerian Senate has been forced into a closed-door meeting after Senators move to suspend the screening of former minister and presently, ministerial nominee, Festus Keyamo.
Due to his disobedience to summons by the Senate and House of Representatives in the past, most of the Senators asked that Keyamo should not be confirmed.
The Senate was on Monday thrown into a dramatic rowdy session when a Senator representing Abia Central Senatorial District, Senator Darlington Nwokocha, moved a motion for the suspension of the ministerial screening of Keyamo from Delta State.
Senator Nwokocha’s motion was seconded by his colleague from Abia South Senatorial District, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.
When Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, subjected the motion to a voice vote, the lawmakers were divided on the matter, thereby erupting the upper legislative chamber into a rowdy session.
Amid the heated arguments among the lawmakers, the Senate President rose to his feet and announced that the Senate would enter a closed session.
Senator Nwokocha had reportedly in his motion accused Keyamo who is the immediate past Minister of State for Labour and Employment, of disrespecting the 9th National Assembly and accusing the last Assembly of being corrupt.
Nwokocha said that during former President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, Keyamo was invited to explain the Special Public Works programme but the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) didn’t honour the 9th National Assembly’s invitation.
Recall that the programme was coordinated by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) which was under the ministry Keyamo supervised.
The President Buhari-led Nigerian government in 2020 earmarked N52 billion for the programme to recruit 1,000 youths from each of the 774 local governments for three months and pay them N20,000 each.
However, there were complaints over the programme as some constituents said they did not benefit from the programme.
The Senate Public Account Committee subsequently probed the matter but Keyamo who supervised the programme shunned the Senate committee invitation on the matter.
