A former Senate leader, Senator Teslim Folarin, at the weekend, explained why the senate asked a former governor of Akwa Ibom, Godswill Akpabio and 16 others to take a bow and go while being screened as ministers.
Akpabio is under investigation by the Economic Crime and Financial Commission (EFCC).
But Folarin said, unknown to many, the senate has its internal workings, rules and traditions that many Nigerians were not privy to, which was employed to ask former governors and members of National Assembly to take a bow.
He said in the case of Akpabio, he had not been found guilty of the charges, maintaining that the Senate did well in screening him.
“Everyone is presume innocent until he is found guilty in competent court of law,” he said.
Folarin, who spoke to journalist in Ibadan during the ‘thank you party’ he organised for constituents over his 2019 electoral victory at the weekend, said the senate under President Ahmed Lawan, won’t condescend to be stooge of the executive.
According to Folarin, “We have our traditions. If you are a former member of the National Assembly, it is our tradition to allow you to bow and go.
“Nigerians may not like it but that is the way it is. If you have been a governor of a state before you came to the National Assembly for clearance, we must respect you because you have been entrusted with huge responsibility before.
“What do we ask a governor? Again, in some cases, once they talk for like five minutes, you will know what they have in stock. You don’t have to keep people for like one hour before you know you have screen them. If you screen somebody for five minutes, you will know if the person is sound or not,” Folarin argued.
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