Obanikoro’s confirmation has attracted outrage from many Nigerians due to the fact that he was recently accused of participating in election rigging during the June 2014 polls in Ekiti.
The Nigerian Senate today, March 11, confirmed former Lagos governorship aspirant, Musiliu Obanikoro as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Obanikoro’s confirmation has attracted outrage from many Nigerians due to the fact that he was recently accused of participating in election rigging during the June 2014 polls in Ekiti.
The Senate however overlooked the allegations and the obstacles posed by All Progressives Congress (APC) legislators and went ahead to confirm him.
Here are three reasons why Obanikoro was confirmed by the Senate:
He was nominated by President Goodluck Jonathan:Obanikoro was nominated by President Goodluck Jonathan to fill the ministerial position. Nominations sent by the President to the Senate are usually honoured.
The position was promised to him by the President:Obanikoro was promised a ministerial position in exchange for allowing Jimi Agbaje contest for the governorship of Lagos on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) without further challenge. Obanikoro lost to Agbaje during the PDP state primaries in December 2014.
He is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party: Obanikoro is a member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which enjoys majority seating at the Senate. The only legislators who were against his confirmation were from the opposition party, APC.
