‘Non-indigene’: Senate panel dismisses petition against NERC nominee

The senate committee on power has dismissed a petition against Yusuf Ali, a nominee for commissioner of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The panel said the petition against Ali lacked merit.

Ali was one of the four commissioners who were recently nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaking on Monday during the screening of the nominees, Gabriel Suswam, chairman of the committee, notified Ali that there was a petition against him.

“The petition says you are not from Kwara. And so, as a senator from north central, I am very worried that you are nominated to represent north central. The people that know said you are not from north central,” Suswam said.

“You seem to be highly educated as a young man. You have a PhD under 30 years from Cambridge University, one of the best universities.

“You have a distinction in nuclear energy from the same university; you also have a first class in electrical and electronic engineering from Manchester University.

“Qualification-wise, we should have just asked you to take a bow and go, but we are here beyond qualification.

“The constitution says regarding conduct, so we now question you a little bit based on qualification.”

In response to the panel, Ali said indeed his father is from Osun but his parents migrated to Kwara in 1983.

“My family immigrated to Kwara in 1983. My siblings and I were all born in Kwara. We have lived there all through our lives,” he said.

“In 1999, the process to make us indigenes of Kwara commenced and we have the documentation in the file attached. That was granted in 2002.

“All my public records in terms of the 2006 census, my driver’s licence, my NIN, my PVC all have me from Kwara.”

In his ruling, Suswam dismissed the petition.

“As a senate that represents the people, I don’t think we will support such a petition because the young man, who is 30 and who does not know any other place other than where he was born, is from that place,” the Benue senator said.

“I don’t know why we have become so conscientised about where someone comes from. What matters is the content you have and how well you can represent this country.

“As far as we are concerned, that is a very frivolous petition and we hereby dismiss the petition on grounds of lack of merit.”