From: FRED ITUA, Abuja
Despite an unfavourable report submitted by the Department of State Services (DSS) against the nomination as ambassador of Justice Sylvanus Adiewere Nsofor, the Senate, on Wednesday, confirmed him.
Nsofor is a former Justice of the Court of Appeal.
He was first rejected by the Senate ionMarch 13.
He was rejected alongside Jacob Igbekele Daodu from Ondo State. He also got an unfavorable report from the DSS.
Explaining the rationale behind the disqualification of Nsofor in March, chairman of the Senate committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, said the Imo nominee was too old to hold a public office.
His re-nomination was sent to the Senate in a letter dated 29th March and received on April 11, 2017.
Reading the report of the committee yesterday, Senator Sunmonu said the DSS report disqualified Justice Nsofor because of his old age. He said the Service warned that he was unfit and incapable of discharging the demands of his office.
The lawmaker, however, added that unlike his first appearance, Justice Nsofor proved during the screening exercise that he is fit to represent Nigeria as an ambassador.
Ironically, the Senate, also relying on a DSS report, refused to confirm Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Similar to the report on Justice Nsofor, the DSS, advised the Senate not to confirm Magu as chairman of EFCC. Just like Justice Nsofor, Magu’s name was submitted twice by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Meanwhile, the Senate has mandated its committee on Foreign Affairs to investigate claims that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has increased its 2017 pilgrimage fares to N1.5 million per pilgrim.
The decision of the Senate, followed a point raised by Senator Umaru Kurfi from Katsina State. He called on the Senate to investigate claims that NAHCON has unilaterally increased Hajj fares, despite the economic recession.