The Senate will today, October 22, conduct another round of ministerial screening as nominees will entertain questions raised on the floor of the House.
Topping the list of ministerial nominees to be screened today is former governor of Rivers state Rotimi Amaechi.
Amaechi is the last man standing from the first batch of ministerial nominees forwarded to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Out of the first 21 nominees from ‘batch A’, 19 have been screened while one nominee from Batch B has also been screened. With the statistics, 15 nominees from ‘batch B’, and one from the first list is yet to be quizzed.
18 ministerial nominees who have been confirmed are: Udoma Udo Udoma (Akwa Ibom state), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti state), Audu Ogbeh (Benue state), Ogbonnaya Onu (Ebonyi state), Osagie Ehanire (Edo state), Abdulrahman Dambazau (Kano state), Lai Mohammed (Kwara state), Amina J Mohammed (Gombe state), Suleiman Adamu (Jigawa state), Ibrahim Jibril (Nasarawa state), Babatunde Fashola (Lagos state), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu (Delta state), Abubakar Malami (Kebbi state), Chris Ngige (Anambra state), Aisha Jummai Alhassan (Taraba state), Solomon Dalong (Plateau state), Kemi Adeosun (Ogun state), Hadi Sirika (Katsina state).
But President Muhammadu Buhari withdrew the name of immediate past deputy governor of Niger state, Ahmed Musa Ibeto, from the list of nominees.
It is believed that the Senate did not allow its deputy president, Ike Ekweremadu, to preside over the screening of ministerial nominees yesterday because he is of the opposition party.
The Senate plenary session was suspended yesterday as Senator Bukola Saraki is currently facing a 13-count charge bordering on false assets declaration, to which he has pleaded ‘not guilty’, but the hearing has since continued at the tribunal.
The Senate President was accompanied by about 84 of his colleagues to the tribunal on Wednesday, October 21, as the hearing was resumed and the case was further adjourned till November 5, pending the outcome of the Court of Appeal.
12:05: Saraki reads the announcement for the day which includes a letter from President Buhari on appointments.
12:00: Senator Thompson Sekibo from River state addresses the controversy that has clouded the nomination of Rotimi Amaechi and if he will be screened today. He says: “If the Order paper shows he will be taken then he will be taken. It’s not my own personal position, the Senate position supersedes every other position. So if his name is included to be screened today, he will be screened. We’ll not stop him.”
11:59: After a hour in a closed session, the Senate resumes plenary.
10:57: The Senate moves into a closed session in preparation of today’s ministerial screening.
10:55: Senate President Bukola Saraki leads the Senate Leadership to the Chambers and the Official prayer is taken.
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