The Constitution and Justice Commission of the Legislative Assembly of Ceará approved, this Thursday (12), the appointment of psychopedagogue Onélia Santana, wife of the minister of , (), to fill a vacancy as counselor at the TCE (State Audit Court ).
The nomination was approved by the board by 7 to 2. The vote in the committee was secret and took place after Onélia Santana’s hearing for the board’s deputies. With this, the nomination goes to the plenary of the Assembly, where the final vote should take place this Friday (13).
Onélia has been state secretary of Social Protection since 2022. She was appointed to the position by then governor Izolda Cela (PDT) and maintained by the current governor, Elmano de Freitas (PT). Both are allies of Camilo, who governed Ceará from 2015 to 2022.
If the nomination is endorsed by state deputies, Onélia Santana will hold a position for life, with compulsory retirement at age 75, and will have a monthly salary of R$39,700.
Others in the government (PT) have their respective wives appointed as counselors in state audit courts. They are ministers Rui Costa (Civil House), Renan Filho (Transport), Waldez Góes (National Integration) and Wellington Dias (Social Development).
The vacancy in the TCE of Ceará was opened in June, after the death of counselor Alexandre Figueiredo. The position’s vacancy was officially declared by the Assembly last week, beginning the process of choosing the new advisor.
Onélia Santana has a degree in literature from the Regional University of Cariri, a clinical psychopedagogue and completed her doctorate in health sciences in 2023 from the Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, in São Paulo. She was first lady of Ceará and municipal secretary of Social Assistance in Juazeiro do Norte.
The expectation is that the approval will happen by a wide margin, as the former first lady is a consensus of the allied base of Governor Elmano de Freitas – at least 38 of the 46 state deputies signed the document that registers the candidacy on Tuesday.
Relatives of governors or former governors in at least seven states since 2022. In some states, the appointments were challenged in court.
This was the case of Marília Góes, wife of the Minister of Integration Waldez Góes (PDT), appointed to the position of advisor to the TCE of Amapá in 2022, when her husband was still governor. The possession was suspended by the courts, but the decision was later reversed.
Renata Calheiros, wife of the Minister of Transport (MDB), was elected in Alagoas in 2022.
In January 2023, federal deputy Rejane Dias, wife of the Minister of Social Development (PT), followed the same path and was nominated by the Assembly for a seat on the Piauí TCE.
Two months later, nurse Aline Peixoto, wife of the Chief Minister of the Civil House, (PT), went to the Court of Auditors of the Municipalities of Bahia.
In the same month, it was the turn of Daniela Barbalho, wife of the governor of Pará Helder Barbalho (MDB), to be elected advisor to the TCE of Pará.
At the same time, Daniel Brandão, from Maranhão, Carlos Brandão (PSB), became an advisor to the TCE, starting a legal war over the choice.
In May 2023, Simone Denarium, first lady of , was elected advisor to the TCE and became one of those responsible for the local government, led by her husband, Antonio Denarium (PP).
