Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate yesterday dismissed as false and malicious the allegation that its leadership received a $10 million bribe to halt the screening and confirmation of Mr. Abdullahi Garba Ramat as Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

In a statement issued in Abuja, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, said the Red Chamber stepped down Ramat’s confirmation due to what he described as “a baggage of public and private complaints” filed against the nominee.

He said the decision of the red chamber was not because of any form of inducement.

The Senate’s clarification followed an allegation by Alwan Hassan, a former Special Adviser to ex–Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who claimed that the leadership of the 10th Senate collected a $10 million bribe to frustrate Ramat’s confirmation.

Describing Hassan’s accusation as “baseless and satanic verses of a political mercenary,” Adaramodu said the Senate would take legal action to compel him to substantiate his claims in court.

The Senate Spokesperson said, “The attention of the Senate has been drawn to the uncoordinated cacophony of one innocuous Alwan Hassan, who is a hand-tool to one Mr. Abdullahi Garba Ramat.

“Mr. Alwan has ludicrously alleged that the Senate was compromised by yet-to-be-disclosed ghosts to reject the nomination and confirmation of Mr. Ramat.

“For the unsuspecting public not to be persuaded by the satanic verses of this political feckless mercenary, the Senate wishes to state that Mr. Garba Ramat has a baggage of public and private complaints against his nomination.”

Adaramodu stressed that the Senate acted strictly within its constitutional duty, adding that several nominees have been stepped down in the past over similar public concerns.

“The Senate is bound statutorily to halt actions on anyone under such public questioning. Many nominees have been stepped down due to such outcry. The case of Mr. Ramat is not an exception,” he said.

The Senate spokesman emphasised that the upper legislative chamber had no prior relationship with the NERC nominee before his name was forwarded for confirmation.

He said, “No one can drag the institution of the National Assembly into public opprobrium with unfathomable allegations in order to arm-twist the legislature. Nigerians deserve appointees who pass through watertight screening processes, not those who attempt to bully their way through blackmail,” Adaramodu stated.

He added that the Senate respects citizens’ views and petitions as part of its constitutional oversight duties and would not compromise the integrity of the screening process.

“The Senate is an institution of noble Nigerians who respect the opinions, complaints and compliments of citizens. We don’t know Mr. Ramat personally; we are only bound to listen to and investigate issues raised against any nominee presented to us,” he said.

With the controversy now assuming a legal dimension, the Senate vowed to drag Hassan before a court of law to prove his bribery allegations or face the consequences of defamation.

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