Legislative governance expert and policy analyst, Chibuzo Okereke, has lamented Nigeria’s ministerial screening procedure, describing it as a parley rather than the confirmatory process required by law.
Okereke made this statement on Wednesday when he appeared in an interview programme on Arise Television.
He expressed concern over the credibility of the ministerial vetting process in light of the recent certificate scandal involving the former minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, who resigned amid allegations of forgery.
Okereke explained that the Nigerian Constitution and Senate Standing Orders clearly outline the procedures for ministerial confirmation, but they are rarely followed.
“The ministerial process we have been witnessing, I could say, has been a parley process and not a confirmatory process as required.
“Section 147 (1) establishes the office of the minister and empowers the president to make appointments, while Section 147 (2) empowers the Senate to confirm those appointments. The process we have seen is far from what the Constitution envisaged,” he said.
He further described the situation as deeply disturbing, decrying that a minister could serve for two years before such discrepancies were discovered.
