The Senate Committee on Power has dismissed a petition against a Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) nominee, Yusuf Ali.
The Chairman of the Committee, Gabriel Suswam, who confirmed the development in Abuja, on Monday, said the petition against the 30-year-old nominee lacked merit.
Ali was one of the four nominees screened by the panel on Monday.
Suswam said: “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 the North-Central. The people that know said you are not from the North-Central.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
