PDP chieftain faults nomination of ministers, commissioners without portfolios

<p>Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain and former Delta State governorship aspirant, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has faulted the president’s and governor’s nomination of ministers or commissioners for screening in the National Assembly or House of Assembly without attaching their portfolios.</p>, <p>Onuesoke described the action as archaic during a chat with journalists, arguing that the idea behind nominating ministers or commissioners without attaching their portfolios was retrogressive.</p>, <p>He posited that the fact that portfolios were not assigned to the nominees is a drawback, making the process at the Senate a somewhat blind screening.</p>, <p>He wondered, querying how a nominee can be grilled for competence without knowing his intended assignment.</p>, <p>“If we are as serious as our problems deserve, the prospective ministers and their respective ministries ought to be known a few weeks after the results of the presidential election.</p>, <p>“It is an unusual practice and I am not sure it is still done in any serious democracy that appoints ministers and send them for clearance without assigning portfolios to them. This is a culture that we have continued to practice in Nigeria.</p>, <p>“In the United States, those who are nominated already know their portfolios. You do not appoint someone before allocating the portfolio. I do not know where we got this retrogressive idea.</p>, <p>“The lawmakers should know which ministry a nominee is going to so that their questions will be tailored to the assignment in that ministry,” he advised.</p>, <p>The PDP chieftain pointed out that the situation of screening the nominees generally makes it difficult for even members of the public to assess the suitability or otherwise of those that were nominated.</p>, <p>He stressed that screening them generally would not bring out the quality of services they could render if eventually cleared, adding that at the end round pegs could be placed in square holes.</p>, <p>“As a matter of fact, they screen people for the wrong re