APC, PDP senators in war over Amaechi

                                                    
“We are allowing the minority to have their say. We will have our way,” Senate Leader Ali Ndume, (APC, Borno North), said last night.
He said: “This issue of Amaechi is generating unnecessary tension.

I think being a two-term governor and a former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, he is qualified to be a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “The report of the Senate Committee is ready and we will go ahead with the screening of the nominee. Our responsibility lies in ensuring that Amaechi has met the requirements of the constitution.
Ndume added: “There is no provision in the 1999 Constitution or the Senate Standing Orders that says you must disqualify a nominee because of a petition.

“If anyone has issues or allegations against Amaechi, let the person go to court to prove these. Under normal circumstance, Amaechi ought to take a bow in view of his past records. “But we will want to hear from him what he has in stock for the nation which he wants to serve. This noise from PDP cannot stop Amaechi’s confirmation.
“We have 58 APC Senators (excluding the President of the Senate who has no vote unless there is a tie) and we are all united behind Amaechi. The PDP has 48 Senators. Assuming that all the PDP Senators are against Amaechi, the majority will still have its way.
Ahead of Amaechi’s screening, there has been a division in the rank of PDP senators.

Some of them were said to have told their colleagues that they may not support the position of the party to “halt the screening and confirmation of Amaechi.”
It was gathered that the PDP senators backing Amaechi based their decision on personal grounds.

One of them said: “I think on a personal note, he is qualified for the job. He has the capacity to deliver on any assignment given to him.
“Some of us also do not believe in politics of tit-for-tat. Amaechi worked against our victory but politics is fluid, he might be with us tomorrow.”
Another PDP senator said: “I think the interest of the nation should be paramount. This screening of Amaechi is assuming a personal dimension. We should be concerned more about his ability for the job than anything else.