Ministerial Screening: Amaechi In Make Or Mar Visit To Saraki

Former governor of Rivers State and ministerial nominee, Rotimi Amaechi, last Tuesday night visited Senate President Bukola Saraki where he begged the latter to help clear him ahead of the ministerial screening which starts next week Tuesday.

Amaechi arrived the Maitama, Abuja residence of the Senate President at about 11:45pm and left at about 1am, last Wednesday morning.

Ministerial nominees have intensified their lobby for the Senate’s clearance since the release of their names. The Senate must screen and confirm them before they could be sworn in.

In the case of Amaechi, no sooner did he have his names announced that the three senators from Rivers State, George Thompson Sekibo (Rivers East), Osinakachukwu Ideozu (Rivers West) and Olaka Nwogu (Rivers South-east) submitted a petition against Ameachi’s confirmation, alleging that the former governor allegedly misappropriated N70 billion belonging to Rivers State while as governor of the state.

A source privy to the visit of the former governor, said this would be the first time Amaechi would be visiting Saraki since the Senate President’s emergence. He had stayed away and even worked against the Senate president’s emergence which was against their party (APC’s) stand.

Amaechi who drove himself to the residence in company of an aide pleaded with the Senate President to forget the past and help clear him.

The embattled former governor faces stiff opposition as the three senators from his state are set to oppose his nomination, just as several petitions are said to have already hit the Senate President’s table ahead of the screening.

A source revealed that Amaechi succeeded in extracting a promise from the Senate President that he would do everything possible to make his clearance come easy.

The former Rivers governor was the director general of the Buhari Campaign Organisation and was said to have spent huge funds during the APC presidential primary and the campaigns.