Citizenship News
Members of the Senate Committee on Appropriations were unhappy with the Committee Chairman for keeping them waiting without explanation for over three hours for a meeting .
The meeting scheduled for Friday January 30, had earlier been announced by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio at plenary on Thursday to be held at 10 am to underscore its importance.
Some senators arrived the Room 224 venue of the meeting shortly after 10 am on Friday and waited patiently till around 12:30 pm.
Trouble started when Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) complained bitterly on why the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Solomon Olamilekan (Ogun West) would keep 15 of them, his colleagues waiting for three hours, especially on a Friday when Muslims must go for prayers.
Aliero, one of the 15 senators who had been waiting announced that 15 of them could not continue to wait for their own colleague, especially being a Friday and suggested that the meeting be postponed.
He asked his colleagues if any of them had a secret phone number of Senator Olamilekan to inform him of their plan to leave as the time for Friday prayer was approaching.
The Vice Chairman of the committee, and Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Tahir Monguno (Borno North) was informed of their intention to disperse, but Monguno rushed to the venue and pleaded with them to exercise patience till 12:40 pm.
Fortunately, the chairman, Olamilekan rushed to the venue shortly after the expiration of the period of grace with apology and took responsibility for all that happened.
Senator Solomon Olamilekan (Ogun West) chairman of Appropriations Committee apologized profusely blaming mix-up in the timing.
He thanked his “very distinguished colleagues for starting the meeting behind schedule”, adding it was as a result of some mix-up that happened, which he regretted.
“I don’t want to start shifting responsibility or reasons, but I want, as the chairman of the committee, to take full responsibility for whatever might have happened”, he said.
According to him, he got prepared for the meeting very early, but the secretariat brought to my attention that it’s for 12 o’clock.
“I thought the meeting was for 11 o’clock. So by 10 o’clock, I was on my way and he called and said, no sir, the meeting is for 12 o’clock. I am very sorry, my distinguished colleague”.
He vowed that heads will roll in the secretariat of the committee as a result what happened.
In his rush to start the meeting, he forgot the opening prayer until his attention was drawn to it.
