BY EMMA UJAH, ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF, HENRY UMORU & DAPO AKINREFON

ABUJA — The Senate’s refusal to screen former Finance Minister Olusegun Aganga and former Water Resources Minister, Obadiah Ando may have been due to weighty petitions filed against them in the Senate.

Ando’s problems are even compounded by the fact that all three Senators from his home State, Taraba are signatory to a petition against him.

Aganga is being confronted by a number of petitions alleging that he is not from Lagos, though all three Senators from Lagos have been quiet on the issue.

Both Aganga and Ando were passed over during the screening last week reflective of the fact that the Senate is considering the petitions against them. Yesterday, Aganga fought back insisting that he was nominated back to the federal cabinet based on his performance as Finance Minister in the last cabinet.

In the latest petition against Aganga filed by 93 years old retired Justice Isiaka Oluwa, he said that the nomination of Aganga was against the provision of Section 147(3) of the constitution which requires that each state should have a nominee in the federal cabinet.

“I am Justice Isiaka Ishola Oluwa (rtd), a 93 years old indigene of Lagos State and indeed patriotic Nigeria who has served meritoriously as a judge in the Lagos Judiciary. By virtue of my age, I could claim to have been part of the metamorphosis of the Nigeria State from embryonic stage till what it is today.

“This clear provision presupposes that amongst other criteria of qualifications, a person to be appointed as Minister to represent a particular state on the Federal Executive Council must be an indigene of that state. With all due regards, I submit that this provision is clear, unambiguous and sacrosanct.

To this end, I respectfully implore distinguished Senators to meticulously consider the nominees, particularly to confirm their states of origin. This will be in tandem with clear provision of Nigeria’s constitution and expectation of the Nigerian people. Particularly, it will also prevent situation where Lagos State ministerial slot would be usurped by a person who is not of Lagos State origin”.

Special Assistant, Media, Mr. Okwudili Ojukwu, however, said that Aganga was nominated  based on his performance in the last cabinet.

His words, “the sterling performance of Mr Aganga is obviously the basis for his invitation into government this time. Most Nigerians are of the opinion that he passed his test very well and see that as the basis of his invitation by the president to join the cabinet again.

The petition signed by the three Senators from Taraba, Aisha Jummai Alhassan, (Taraba North), Abubakar Tutare, (Taraba Central) and Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba South), a copy which was made available to Vanguard said they had rejected him.

The Senators who addressed the letter to Senate President David Mark and copied the Deputy Senate President, all Principal officers, all Senators and the Taraba State governor, Danbaba Suntai stressed that he cannot be the minister to represent Taraba State.

The petition which was dated June 30,2011 with the caption ““Objection to the Nomination/Confirmation of Dr. Obadiah Ando, Ministerial Nominee, Taraba state”” which was written on the letter-headed paper of the Taraba Senators Forum reads: ““You may recall our verbal objection to the nomination/confirmation of the Taraba state ministerial nominee, Dr. Obadiah Ando made by the three senators representing the people of Taraba state.

““We the undersigned representing Taraba state deem it necessary to officially communicate the objection of the people of Taraba state o the Senate through your Excellency, our President. ““We shall give details or the reasons of our peoples” objections whenever we are so required so to do.““Please accept your Excellency the assurance of our unflinching support and that of the people of Taraba state””.

The Senate has a tradition of dropping any nominee for federal cabinet if at least two senators from his state kick against any nomination.