Amaechi: Between politics and anti-graft war

WHEN the senate reconvenes plenary to continue the screening of cabinet nominees today, former River State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, would know his fate. Would he be confirmed a minister or be missing on the list of the possible members of the first federal executive council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government?

The former Director-General of APC presidential campaign organization, ever since his nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari, has been caught in the middle of adversarial political relationship between APC and the Peoples Democratic Part (PDP).

And in the ensuing politics, Amaechi has become a kind of pawn on the chessboard of anti-corruption wrangle between the two main political parties.

Today, if eventually Amaechi takes his turn to be screened, the outcome would have diverse implications on APC-PDP relationship in the Red Chamber, APC post electoral victory politics and President Buhari’s stance on war against corruption.

The senate ad-hoc committee on public petitions could not proceed in its investigation of various petitions against the nominee’s confirmation on the grounds that the matter is in court. It would therefore be seen whether in the absence of such exercise what the report of the panel would be as well as its recommendations.

Would the senate committee’s report be read to the nominee requiring that his nomination and screening be put on hold until the case in court is withdrawn or determined, after which he is ushered out of the hallowed chambers? Or would the screening goes ahead regardless of whatever might be the stand of the committee?

It is obvious that Amaechi has supporters and detractors. Even within his APC, there are the puritans and the partisans. The partisans feel that having contributed to the success of the party at the polls, Amaechi should be allowed to bow and go ahead to become a minister in the government he helped to form, regardless of whatever frustrating designs weaved by his detractors in the PDP.

APC puritans include those who feel that giving Amaechi a legislative pass to become a minister in Buhari’s administration would blunt the edge of the sword against corruption. They also contend that stopping Amaechi, a chieftain of APC on the basis of corruption allegations against him especially the Rivers state government white paper that indicted him would convince Nigerians that the anti-corruption stance of the party does not respect persons or political affiliation.

Then the division within PDP caucus revolves around building synergy with Amaechi with a view to demonstrating to APC that the party is running with former PDP apostles to parody their change mantra and using Amaechi to test run the party’s ability to filibuster APC in the National Assembly.

As it happens those opposed to Amaechi’s clearance are backed by Rivers PDP, which expresses the apprehension that the former governor’s ministerial appointment would renew the cat and mouse relationship between the incumbent, Nyesom Wike and his predecessor.

Though Wike has denied interest in Amaechi’s ministerial headache, the Justice George Omereji Judicial Commission of Inquiry, he set up produced the report that is raising dust over Amaechi’s political progression as a minister. The panel in its report recommended prosecution as it held that the former governor, while in office, illegally withdrew various sums of money from the state treasury.

The senate hinged its adjournment of Amaechi’s screening on the report. To make matters worse, the government white paper on the report forwarded to the senate had an attached executive summary which declared: “No person whose antecedents show that he is unlikely to act in furtherance of good governance is qualified to be confirmed as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the distinguished Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Again despite Wike’s denial of interest in persecuting or frustrating his predecessor’s chase of a ministerial post, the same report, executive summary and all, was also sent to the president.
Apart from recommending that the office of the State Attorney General should take necessary steps to recover the money withdrawn from the Rivers State Reserve Fund, the white paper adopted the panel recommendation that former governor is liable to refund of N53.9 billion withdrawn from the reserve fund because he allegedly influenced the State Assembly to amend a section of the law governing the operation of the fund.

The white paper in accepting the Omereji panel report disclosed that after amending section 4 of the law on February 13, 2014, Amaechi orchestrated the withdrawal of N53.9 billion in less than one year (February 13, 2013 to January 2015) adding that the reserve fund thereafter fell from its N55 billion to N1.2 billion balance.

While suggesting that the monies were withdrawn to fund activities not consistent with any emergency as stipulated as conditionality in the operation of the reserve fund, the white added: “The last attempt by the Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi administration to withdraw the sum of N1 billion was frustrated by FBN Trustees which insisted that the request and resolution of the Rivers House of Assembly did not comply with the law.”

Other recommendation requesting Amaechi’s refund is N4.6 billion which the panel said was paid to Clinotech Diagnostic and Pharmaceutical Incorporated, through Clinoriv Specialist Hospital and Leisure Limited, which was a special purpose vehicle. It also remarked that the former governor provided the cost of execution of the Justice Karibi-Whyte Specialist Hospital without recourse to due process and paid $39,000, (equivalent to 40 percent cent equity) to Clinoriv through a First Bank of Nigeria cheque dated May 26, 2008.

However determined to fight back and ensure his confirmation, Amaechi wrote a letter to the President of Senate and denunciated the contents of the Rivers State government white paper. He premised his rebuttal on political witch-hunt adding that the court of the law is a best place to take such complaints if they have bearing on criminality.

Though he did not explain why he failed to appear before the judicial panel to defend himself, Amaechi through his counsel, Edward Pepple, in the letter stated his innocence of the allegations of corruption for which the panel indicted him. While referring the senate leadership to a similar case that involved former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the nominee’s counsel argued that “an indictment by judicial commission of inquiry or administrative panel is not sufficient for the purpose of preventing a person from holding a public office” adding that the Supreme Court held as such in Atiku’s case.

Section 182(1)(i) only enables a judicial commission of inquiry or administrative tribunal to determine the culpability of a citizen where it is alleged that such citizen has been in breach of standards of behaviour expecting in public life. Where such inquiry finds a citizen liable or culpable of a conduct bordering on criminality and the federal or state government accepts such a report through a published white paper, it is still not enough to deny a citizen eligibility to the office of governor unless and until he is afterwards prosecuted in a court of law and found guilty,” the letter had stated.

In the light of the exchanges, the confirmation of Amaechi would affect the Senate in a way that Nigerians may begin to see the 8th as a compromised one or as a stumbling block to President Buhari’s anti-corruption stance. Worse still the decision of the president to leave the clearing of his nominees at the discretion of the senators places him in a similar moral position as Pontius Pilate.

Moreover that line of reasoning may be informed by the belief that if after background searches on his nominees, the president passes the buck to the senators, it suggests a kind of endorsement. Consequently rejecting a nominee would leave the impression that the Senate has embarrassed the president.

Conversely if the Senate leans on the ouster phrase that it does not meddle in cases in court, to ask Amaechi to discharge his case in the court before appearing before it for screening, the Senate may have opened itself up for further distractions.

Many APC puritans could latch on that disqualification to say that since the Senate does not believe in the constitutional dictum that an accused is deemed innocent until proved guilty, those senators with court cases should withdraw until their cases are determined. In the midst of such wrangling the business of the Senate would hurt. But if eventually Amaechi is given a green light and gets appointed as minister, PDP would never cease to accuse the APC and its Federal Government of selective persecution in the anti-corruption fight.

Amaechi has become a middle minister-nominee; how he survives the darts from his internal detractors and external adversaries would determine how far his political progression in the next four years would go. The middle course may be for the Senate to write the president saying that in view of the issues surrounding the nominee, they have decided to keep his screening in view. Or in the alternative ask the president to consider a replacement if the delay would affect his timeline for the Federal Executive Council. That would be buck passing any way, but that goes to show how testy Amaechi’s case has come to be. In the clash of politics and legalism, Nigerians would no doubt learn a thing or two from today’s Senate sitting.