Senate Set To Screen President Jonathan’s Replacement For Sanusi

The Nigerian Senate has announced its readiness to screen, Godwin Emefiele, President Goodluck Jonathan’s nominee as substantive Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), tomorrow.
According to Senate President David Mark, the screening and confirmation of the appointment of Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa as President of the Court of Appeal (PCA) will equally hold tomorrow, and both will be televised live.
Mark made the announcement on Tuesday during plenary, after seeking the approval of senators for the appointment of the two nominees to be considered and confirmed.
Presenting President Jonathan’s request, Leader of the Senate, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba stated that Bulkachuwa’s confirmation is in accordance with Section 238(1) of the 1999 constitution, while that of Emefiele is in accordance with Section 81(1) and (2) of the CBN Act 2007.
And briefing journalists after the day's plenary, spokesman of the Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe explained the constitutionality of screening Emefiele before the June expiration of Sanusi’s tenure.
“There is nothing in the Constitution that says we should screen the new person only after the tenure of the incumbent”, he said.
“In fact, good sense means that we should screen the new person and go through all the processes so that on the day the tenure of the incumbent ends, he can handover to his successor”.
President Goodluck Jonathan nominated Emefiele (who is Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc) as Governor of CBN on 20th February 2014, a few hours after ousting then Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi on allegations of financial reckless and misconduct.
Meanwhile, Bulkachuwa's name was forwarded to the Senate on 19th March 2014 for confirmation as the new President of the Court of Appeal.
Before announcing Emefiele’s nomination, the president had directed Sanusi to hand over to Dr. Sarah Alade, the most senior deputy governor in the bank, who will serve as Acting Governor “until the conclusion of ongoing investigations into breaches of enabling laws, due process and mandate of the bank”.
But Sanusi has since filed a suit against the Federal Government, challenging his suspension from office and imploring the court to, among others, restrain the president, along with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), from giving effect to his suspension, pending the determination of his suit.
He particularly insisted that, as widely believed, his suspension was the consequence of his outcry over the $20bn in crude oil sales that was unremitted to the Federation Account by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).