A Kano-based chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mal. Alwan Hassan has apologised to the leadership of the Senate for wrongfully accusing them of receiving $10 million to stall the confirmation of Ramat Abdullahi as the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

He particularly apologised to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and his Deputy, Senator Barau Jibrin, admitting that the allegation against them and the leadership of the upper chamber of the National Assembly was “not only untrue but also unfair and uncharitable to both the National Assembly and its leadership.”

Last month, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sent a letter to the Senate seeking Ramat’s confirmation as NERC’s chairman, but after over a month since the letter was read and deliberated upon at plenary, the Senate is yet to announce the confirmation of the nominee.

The development led to a group of party loyalists from Kano State staging a protest at the National Assembly, while several individuals demanded immediate confirmation of Ramat.

Hassan, who joined others to protest the delay, accused the Senate leadership of deliberately stalling the confirmation.

Tendering an unreserved apology at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Hassan said his earlier action was propelled by the information available to him at that time, adding that he has since found out that the allegation lacked fact.

According to him, “I referenced a claim alleging that they received $10 million in bribes to stall Engr. Ramat’s confirmation. That allegation came from conversations I had while trying to understand the issues.

“I have since come to realise that the claim was not only untrue but unfair and uncharitable to both the National Assembly and its leadership.

“I therefore retract that statement fully and unreservedly, and I apologise to the National Assembly and its leadership for those accusations.

“I understand the seriousness of governance, particularly the critical role the parliament plays in our democracy,” he added.

The APC leader then appealed to the Senate to confirm Ramat for the job as requested by President Tinubu.

“I understand the seriousness of governance, particularly the critical role the parliament plays in our democracy. I do not take that role for granted. And it is precisely because of that respect that I once again, like Oliver Twist, appeal—humbly and sincerely—to the good conscience of our distinguished National Assembly to please take a second look at the case of Engr. Ramat Abdullahi and confirm him.

“I genuinely believe he is a worthy leader who can help transform the regulation of Nigeria’s energy sector,” he concluded. (The Nation, excluding headline)