Scores of demonstrators have threatened to write to the country where Prof Abayomi Fasina will serve as ambassador to make them aware of pending issues against him if the Senate proceeds with his screening.
The demonstrators on Tuesday stormed the National Assembly, Abuja, urging the Senate to suspend the confirmation of Prof Abayomi Fasina as a non-career ambassadorial nominee over allegations of se*ual harassment, human rights violations and victimisation, which they said are currently before the courts.
President Bola Tinubu recently transmitted a list of ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation as part of efforts to fill Nigeria’s diplomatic missions abroad after months of vacancies.
However, Fasina’s nomination has continued to attract controversy, with several Civil Society Groups insisting that the Senate should defer any confirmation until pending court cases against him are concluded.
The protesters, under the banner of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, chanted solidarity songs and displayed placards bearing inscriptions such as “Suspend the Ambassadorial Appointment of Prof Fasina Now” and “Nigerian Senate, Don’t Confirm Prof Abayomi Fasina’s Ambassadorial Appointment.”
Prof Fasina is an immediate past Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Kye Ekiti, (FUOYE).
Some women groups had earlier written petition to the Senate not to screen the former Vice Chancellor.
Addressing journalists at the National Assembly complex, Adeyemo Amira, a legal practitioner who spoke on behalf of the coalition, said Fasina has pending cases before the National Industrial Court in Lagos and Abuja.
While insisting that the protest was not driven by personal animosity, Amira urged the Senate to allow the judicial process to run its course before considering the nominee’s confirmation.
She also stressed that the protesters were not asking the Senate to convict or prosecute Fasina, noting that only the courts have the constitutional responsibility to determine guilt or innocence.
She said, “Our call to the Senate is clear. Where there are grave allegations such as sexual misconduct pending before a court, this is not the time to confirm such a person to represent Nigeria internationally. The Senate is not a court. Let the court do its job.
“We have no personal vendetta against Prof Abayomi Sunday Fasina. But this issue is bigger than one individual.”