The Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, on Wednesday said the Senate was still very much within the 21 working days for the screening of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees.
Ndume said seven weeks makes the Senate’s 21 working days.
There had been insinuations that some of the ministerial nominees would be automatically confirmed since the Senate was yet to screen 21 days after their names were submitted.
This was inspite of the fact that the Constitution specified that this can only happen after 21 working days.
Section 147(1) of the 1999 Constitution says: “There shall be such offices of Ministers of the government of the federation as may be established by the President.
(6) “ An appointment to any of the offices aforesaid shall be deemed to have been made where no return has been received from the Senate within twenty-one working days of the receipt of nomination by the Senate.”
Ndume, however, took the argument further to say the 21 working days for the Senate would be seven weeks since the Red Chamber sits only three days in a week.
Ndume, who made this known while reacting to the postponement of the screening of a former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, said the Senate is not bound by the report of the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, which considered a petition against the former governor.
Ndume explained that 21 working days was being wrongly interpreted by the public to be five working days of the week.
He said this is different from the working days in the Senate.
Ndume said: “The Senate is an institution, an independent arm of government and should be respected and strengthened.
“Besides, if the President takes his discretion to take his time to submit the (ministerial) list, which Nigerians patiently waited for, for about four months, why are Nigerians not patient with the Senate to wait for its conclusion?
“Supposing we said let’s take it off till next week, we have that right to do that.
“But the constitution is guiding us that we have to do this within 21 working days.
“And we are still within the 21 working days.
“It is not 21 days, it is 21 working days.
“And our working days in the Senate plenary is three days in a week.
“So, if you are talking about 21 working days, it means that the Senate will do this within seven weeks because we sit for plenary Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
“That is three working days.
“It means that logically, we can do this up to seven weeks.”
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