Ohanaeze Media Forum (OMF), the umbrella body of Igbo journalists in the Print and Electronic media, has berated those endorsing senators with corruption cases hanging on their necks for the President of the 10th Senate.

In a statement signed by Peter Anosike and Ngozi Emedoluibe, Chairman and Secretary of the forum, respectively, they said that those endorsing Senators with corruption cases were only endorsing a compromised and rubber stamp kind of senate which would not bring any good to Nigeria.

According to them, for Nigeria to get a quality Senate, the leader must be somebody who is credible, trustworthy and without baggage.

They said that a Senate President with a corruption case hanging on his neck would be nothing but a pawn in the hand of the executive and even law enforcement agencies.

They added that since the President–elect has promised to fight corruption, he must not have a Senate President who is standing trial on cases of corruption, because “darkness and light cannot flow together.”

According to the group, among the top contenders for the President of the 10th Senate, Osita Izunaso was the most credible because he is the one with no corruption case and, as such, would be able to lead his fellow senators to deliver value to Nigeria without fear or favour.

They said that with Izunaso, Nigerians would have a robust and quality Senate where the interest of Nigerians would come first.

“The real reason why leadership is failing in the Country is because we have not got a truly independent or an unblemished National Assembly. Those who are endorsing Senators with corruption cases hanging on their necks are simply endorsing a compromised National Assembly which is not what we need, going forward. What we need is a National Assembly that will have integrity and credibility and this will start with the President of the Senate who we all know is the face of the Senate. It is in this regard that we are endorsing Osita Izunaso for the President of the 10th Senate because among all the top contenders for the position, he is the only one without corruption case. “His track record of selfless service, integrity, trust and team work will inspire confidence and trust among his fellow Senators,” the statement read in part.