The Nigerian Senate has commenced the screening of 17 nominees submitted by President Bola Tinubu to oversee critical commissions in Rivers State. These nominees are slated to lead the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, the Rivers State Civil Service Commission, and the Rivers State Local Government Service Commission.
The screening process follows the completion of mandatory security clearances conducted by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Police Force. Additionally, all nominees have complied with the constitutional requirement of declaring their assets before the Code of Conduct Bureau, a fact confirmed by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele.
Senator Bamidele, who also chairs the 18-member Senate ad hoc committee responsible for the screening, made these disclosures during the ongoing exercise. The committee’s mandate includes oversight of the activities of the Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd).
The list of nominees was transmitted to the Senate barely a week ago by President Tinubu. The nominees for the Rivers State Civil Service Commission include Dr. Barikor Baribuma as Chairman, alongside Lot Egopija, Ms. Maeve Ere-Bestman, Mrs. Joy Obiaju, and Mrs. Charity Lloyd Harry.
For the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, seven nominees have been presented: Dr. Michael Ekpai Odey (Chairman), Mr. Lezaasi Torbira, Prof. Arthur Nwafor, Prof. Godfrey Mbudiogha, Prof. Joyce Akaniwor, Dr. (Mrs.) Olive A. Bruce, and Prof. Chidi Halliday.
Similarly, the Rivers State Local Government Service Commission nominees include Israel N. Amadi (Chairman), Linus Nwandem, Lady Christabel George-Didia, Dr. Tonye Willie Pepple, Richard Ewoh, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ofik (retd), and Sammy Apiafi.
The Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Basheer Lado, formally presented the nominees to the Senate committee, categorizing them according to their respective commissions.
Senator Bamidele emphasized the committee’s commitment to democratic governance in Rivers State, stating, “Let me quickly inform distinguished colleagues and members of the public that the nominees who are seated before us have gone through security screening by the various security agencies, including the Department of State Security as well as the Nigerian Police. And none of them had any issue with security clearance, which is germane to what we are doing here. We will just be speaking to your CV because I will have no issues with security clearance.”
He further added, “Members of the public are also to be told that we have also insisted that they should go through the constitutional requirement of going to do their assets declaration by the Code of Conduct Bureau, which they have also complied with.”
The committee has not received any petitions or complaints against any of the nominees to date. Senator Bamidele explained that the screening is a procedural process, and once completed, the committee will submit its findings and recommendations to the Senate leadership for final confirmation.
The nominees for the Rivers State Primary Health Care Management Board are scheduled to be screened on Wednesday, as announced by the Senate.