Edo House hailed over screening as Oshiomole drops Obayuwana, others
Thursday, 22 Jan 2009 by Fidelis Soriwei and Oyinlola Ajayi |
The Coalition of Registered Political Parties has hailed the Edo State House of Assembly for embarking on a painstaking screening exercise of the 18 nominees for the state executive council forwarded to the Assembly by Governor Adams Oshiomhole.
The state chairman of the CRPP, Dr. Samson Isibor, said that the Assembly did well in confirming 15 out of the 18 nominees presented to it by Oshiomhole.
Isibor advised the governor to ensure that professionals were assigned to preside over the ministry related to their areas of specialisation while also calling on the appointees to focus on the development aspirations of the governor instead of the godfathers that allegedly facilitated their appointments.
Meanwhile, the governor has withdrawn the names of the National President of the National Conscience Party, Dr. Osagie Obayuwana and two other nominees, Messrs Lucky James and Lordnard Osunde from Ovia North-East, Etsako West and Egor local government areas respectively.
Their confirmation was delayed by petitions written against them by some people in the state.
The governor withdrew the names of Obayuwana and the other nominees in a letter dated January 20, read on the floor of the House by its Clerk on Wednesday, with the title ‘withdrawal of commissioner nominees.’
Oshiomhole did not give any reason for the sudden change of mind on the submission of the names of the affected nominees.
However, the Speaker of the House, Mr. Garuba Zakawanu, who presided over Wednesday’s session, said that the withdrawal of the three commissioner nominees had nothing to do with the petitions written against them.
He said, “It is the responsibility of the governor to submit or withdraw his nominees.â€
A collaboration of labour and civil society groups, however insisted that the NCP president was being victimised by members of the Assembly.
Speaking during a press briefing in Benin on Wednesday, leader of the coalition and human rights activist, Mr. Tony Era, said Obayuwana was being victimised in the Assembly because of his principled position on topical issues in the state which had brought him into coalition with political godfathers in the state.
