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Nigeria walks the plank
11/07/2007 16:57 - (SA)
Abuja - The Nigerian Senate began screening proposed ministers on Wednesday, more than six weeks after President Umaru Yar'Adua took power, tackling a delicate stage in the process of forming a new government.
Nigerian ministries have been in limbo since May 29, when
former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his ministers stepped
down.
An initial list of 35 proposed new ministers was announced
last Thursday, although the portfolios were not specified. Under
the constitution, the Senate must vet the nominees.
Some senators questioned how they were supposed to decide if
the nominees were suitable without knowing which job they would
get, but the process began smoothly in spite of the objections.
Screening by security agencies
Senators spent an hour and a half questioning the first
nominee on their list despite repeated appeals from Senate
President David Mark to speed up the process.
The Senate has not given itself a time limit for the
screening. It usually only sits on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays for about four hours a day, although the sessions can
be extended if a majority of senators vote in favour.
Nominees are not immediately told if they have been approved
or not.
Only 17 of Yar'Adua's 35 nominees have cleared prior
screening by security agencies, and the status of the others is
unclear. Mark read a list of the 17 in the order in which they
would be screened.
Yar'Adua has faced numerous hurdles in putting together his
cabinet, not least a perceived lack of legitimacy after the
April elections that brought him to power were condemned as "not
credible" by European observers because of widespread fraud.
Muslims and Christians
To offset this problem, Yar'Adua has tried to bring in
opposition parties but not all of them have accepted. He is
expected to put forward a second list of ministerial nominees
who should include opposition figures.
Another factor complicating the process is that the
constitution says at least one minister should be appointed from
each of the 36 states to ensure fair representation.
Africa's most populous country with 140 million people,
Nigeria is a nation of about 250 ethnic groups split about
equally between Muslims and Christians. Representation for all
states is a way to ensure a balance of power between competing
interest groups.
But it leads to endless arguments as the states vie for the
best jobs. Even within the states, problems often arise as
different local government areas disagree over whose turn it is
to have one of their own people in government.
Since last Thursday, the Senate has received several
petitions against some of the nominees who face opposition from
within their homes states because of such arguments.
Obasanjo's handiwork
Yar'Adua's other big problem is how to handle his
predecessor, Obasanjo, who almost single-handedly ensured that
Yar'Adua emerged as the ruling party's presidential candidate.
After he stepped down as president, Obasanjo took up a new
position as chairperson of the board of trustees of the ruling
party in what many politicians said was a clear signal that he
intended to continue influencing public affairs.
As a result, politicians have been scrutinising the list of
names for signs of Obasanjo's handiwork and some nominees face
accusations that they are stooges of the former president.
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