Why We Confirmed Sen. Obanikoro As Minister Despite Alleged Election Rigging.

Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro

The Senate as defended their action as they come under intense criticism for confirming Sen. Obanikoro as Minister. Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, the chairman of Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, said the following in defend of their actions desperate intense opposition by APC Senators during the ministerial screening.

Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe

"There are allegations against Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, but in our law and the constitution of Nigeria, anything that is a mere allegation that is not a court decision is nothing but a mere allegation. The laws of Nigeria is very clear; you are innocent until proven guilty, so that is what played out on the floor of the Senate. The Senators who addressed the press conference and spoke otherwise of Senator Obanikoro are enjoying a privilege. This is because some of them have EFCC cases, and they are still in the senate because of this privilege of being innocent until proven guilty. So they cannot go to a press conference, and try to convict somebody when the person has not been convicted by a court of law. The Senate is not a court of law and even when the Senate conducts its own investigation, it passes it to the appropriate body for prosecution" he said.