Our reporter/ Festus Keyamo, SAN, on Monday evening apologised to the Senate over his failure to honour invitations by the relevant legislative committee overseeing the Ministry of Labour and Productivity where he served as a minister under the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The apology came on the heels of a rowdy session at the Senate during his ministerial screening earlier in the day where Senator Darlington Nwokocha (Abia Central) accused Keyamo of disrespecting the Ninth National Assembly and accusing the last Assembly of being corrupt.
The development led to the suspension of the screening of the Delta State nominee by the upper legislative chamber.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio rushed to the Presidential Villa minutes after a rowdy session at the Senate over the screening of Keyamo.
Akpabio was spotted at the Villa at 02:55pm with Senate Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele. The two lawmakers, who left the Villa at 03:48pm, did not address the press.
Tendering an apology “without reservation” at the resumed hearing of the screening excercise, Keyamo provided more insight into the circumstances.
“Maybe it was as a result of the lack of knowledge of the fact that this matter had long been resolved between us and the members of that committee,” he told the Senate with a more sombre disposition than hours earlier.
“Subsequently, there were so many hearings – budget defence and all that – we attended under a very convivial atmosphere. So, the apology is without reservation. I apologise.”
Responding to the issues that had resulted in his summon, the lawyer stated that every single payment to the beneficiaries under the public works programme was paid directly from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the beneficiaries.
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