A Nigerian lawyer says that Nigerians voted against corruption and not just for President Muhammadu Buhari who was showing a face to non-tolerance to corruption.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Mr Chukwuma Ezeala said that “most of the ministerial nominees of the current administration were part of the corruption-ridden government we’ve been having from 1983 till date.
“I expect the President to bring 70 per cent of people known to have done their work well in terms of planning from the private sector,” he said, giving his opinion about the ministerial nominees who have been screened by the Senate.
Giving his view on the quality of questions that were asked the ministerial nominees during screening, Mr Ezeala said: “We expected the Senate to look at every thing in detail; some of the Senators did well in terms of questions asked while some didn’t ask questions that were expected as Senators of Nigeria.
“No ministerial nominee was asked how he would harness the resources in the civil service or how they would make sure that the employees sit up”.
Automatically Approved
Talking about his expectations about the ministerial screening, Mr Ezeala said he believed most Nigerians had their expectations dashed.
“All we heard about the appointment was that the people, who would be appointed, were people of proven character, requisite knowledge and expertise. We were expecting 60 or 70 per cent of people to be appointed into the cabinet to have those qualities.
“Be that as it may, we believe President Buhari wants to deliver on the promises made. So, he has sole information of who he appoints,” he said.
The lawyer further stressed that it was the prerogative of President Buhari to think of those that he could work with him, but also pointed out that the Senate could have helped the President in his choice.
“If the Senate says since the President had nominated 36 ministers, they are automatically approved it means they shouldn’t be there to clear them,” he maintained.
Mr Ezeala, however, stressed that the ministerial screening had not been working over the years because the country had not started doing the right things.
” The President needs to get the politics as well as people who are competent, who command respect and have the support of members of their states,” he added.
