Amaechi May Be Removed As Minister - Senator Shehu Sani

Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna) has listed the condition according to which President Muhammadu Buhari may remove Rotimi Amaechi, ex-governor of Rivers state, as a minister.

He stated that Amaechi will stop to be a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria if he is found guilty by any capable court of corruption.

The senator added that this during a get-well-soon visit to a veteran journalist and columnist, Abdulkareem Albashir.

Sani said: “The APC position on corrupt allegation is that it is still an allegation and the issue is still in court which the senate committee should not have entertained in the first place. In the general sense, we are duty bound to protect the interest of someone in our party and the opposition has the right to object to who ever is presented.

“In the broader sense, Nigerians and posterity will judge whether our approval of Amaechi was a tacit endorsement of corruption because the issues raised were not enough to stop his confirmation. But we must also understand that even if you are made a minister and you get convicted, the law will take its course. Certainly if he is found guilty, he would not continue to serve as minister under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.”

Amaechi is one of the most controversial ministers in the cabinet of President Buhari. The screening of the ex-governor has been postponed several times by the Senate.

During his confirmation the senators from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party staged walkout protest.

Amaechi has been accused to have looted the state treasury of billions from 2007 to 2015 when he was a governor.