The Ekiti State House of Assembly Speaker, Mr Adeoye Aribasoye, has warned Commissioner-nominees against treating the legislature with disrespect after they might have been cleared and confirmed for their positions.
Aribasoye gave the warning in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital in Southeast Nigeria, during the commencement of the screening of the Commissioner-nominees at the State House of Assembly.
He warned that henceforth, the Assembly would not take it lightly with any Commissioner who fails to make available the report of his ministry’s activities on how public funds appropriated are expended before the next Budget.
He also said the Assembly is empowered by the Constitution and its Standing Order to perform oversight functions and ensure that returns on how public funds are expended are rendered as and when due.
Three Commissioner-nominees: Dr. (Mrs) Kofoworola Aderiye, Mr Oyeniyi Adebayo, both from Ido/Osi Local Government and Mr Oluwaseun Fakuade, from Oye Local Government, appeared before the state legislators for screening for the office they were nominated by the State Governor Biodun Oyebanji.
Aribasoye said the exercise was conducted under the provisions of Section 192(1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 to pave the way for the smooth running of the government and implementation of policies and programmes that will impact the lives of the citizens of the state.
The three nominees were grilled by the Assembly members who asked them questions ranging from their personality, educational background, pedigree, competence, past experiences in public and private sectors where they had been privileged to serve and values they would add to governance when eventually confirmed.
As part of measures to ensure a stricter screening procedure, the nominees were compelled to produce Tax Clearance Certificates issued and verified by the Ekiti State Internal Revenue Service in line with Section 38 of the Board of Internal Revenue Law.
The nominees’ Tax Clearance Certificates were personally confirmed and authenticated by the Speaker and the Majority Leader, Tolu Ige before the nominees addressed the Assembly and responded to questions posed to them by the legislators.
The Speaker further said that “each of the nominees screened by the Assembly must declare their assets and produce completed Asset Declaration Forms from the Code of Conduct Bureau before they are confirmed at a later date.”
Emphasizing the need for commissioners and other officers of the government to honour invitations from the Assembly on issues that require legislative scrutiny, Aribasoye warned that the legislature would use the instrumentality of the law to compel the appearance of any officer invited.
The Speaker said: “This House will not take it lightly with any Commissioner that fails to honour invitations to appear before it on issues of governance and areas the House has oversight on.
“We will not tolerate any failure to make available reports of your activities which must be available before the next Budget. You must bring it to explain what you have done with the funds (appropriated by the legislature). The returns must be rendered as and when due.
“When you are summoned, you must appear before the House. I want to say that this House of Assembly will take its rightful position and do what is assigned to it as an arm of government. We will use the instrumentality of the law because we are empowered by the Constitution, we are also empowered by the Standing Order to do the needful.”
“I am going to repeat this to other commissioner-nominees that will still appear before us. In case this House finds you worthy of our confirmation, the House of Assembly which is saddled with the responsibility of oversight (functions) on the Executive, will take its rightful position to do what has been assigned to it as an arm of government.
“We are screening you and we will confirm if we find you worthy. Please let all commissioners respect this House.”
Speaking on the assignment at hand.
“The appointment of commissioners is a significant step in the administration of our government as it paves the way for the implementation of policies and programmes that will directly impact the lives of our citizens,” Aribasoye said.
“It is therefore imperative that we approach this exercise with the utmost diligence, transparency and fairness. Our primary objective is to thoroughly examine the qualifications, experience and suitability of the nominees. We will evaluate their knowledge, competence and commitment to our state development agenda.
“It is crucial that we select individuals who possess the necessary leadership qualities, integrity and dedication to public service. I will like to emphasize that this screening exercise is not an opportunity for witch-hunting or personal vendetta. Instead, it is an occasion for us to collaborate, question and deliberate in the spirit of good governance.” Aribasoye said.
The Speaker urged his colleagues to approach the constitutional assignment with the highest level of professionalism, impartiality and objectivity, stressing that it is their collective duty to safeguard the interests of their constituents and ensure that the individuals confirmed as commissioners are capable of representing their interests.
The screening of the commissioner-nominees continues on Tuesday.