LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – President Bola Tinubu has submitted a letter to the Senate, requesting the confirmation of three additional ministerial nominees.
During the resumption of the plenary session on Tuesday, Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the letter from President Tinubu, urging the lawmakers to confirm the nominees.
The nominees put forward by President Tinubu are Balarabe Abbas Lawal from Kaduna State, Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim from Kwara State, and Mr. Ayodele Olawande from Ondo State.
It is worth noting that in August 2023, the Senate conducted screening and confirmation processes for 45 ministerial nominees, while rejecting three of them. Among those not confirmed was former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, whose nomination raised concerns due to a “serious petition” against him.
Additionally, Stella Okotete from Delta State and Abubakar Danladi from Taraba State were also rejected as nominees.
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During the screening ceremony, Senator Sunday Karimi from Kogi West drew the attention of the lawmakers to the aforementioned petitions against Nasir El-Rufai, who previously served as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
A lawmaker had raised concern over a “serious petition” against El-Rufai during the screening ceremony.
Senator Sunday Karimi from Kogi West had drawn the attention of the lawmakers to the petitions against the former FCT minister.
“Your performance in any office you find yourself in the country has been outstanding. In the Bureau of Public Enterprises, your record is there; in FCT as a minister, your record is there, and as two-time governor of Kaduna state, you did well,” he said after El-Rufai’s presentation.
“But, I have a very strong petition against you that borders on security, unity, and cohesiveness of the Nigerian nation,” the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker added. “And I think that the petition has to be considered in this screening exercise.”