The Senate will today, Wednesday, August 2, 2023, conclude the screening of the remaining five among the 28 ministerial nominees of President Bola Tinubu. They are presidential spokesman Dele Alake; Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Lateef Fagbemi; Muhammad Idris, Ali Pate, and Doris Uzoka.

The second day saw nine appointees take the podium. Those screened included ex-governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna) and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi); Wale Edun, Uche Nnaji, Stella Okotete, Adebayo Adelabu, Ekperikpe Ekpo, Hannatu Musawa, and Musa Dangiwa.

The Senate adjourned till Wednesday to screen the others.

The Senate had on Monday screened 14 of the nominees forwarded by President Tinubu last Thursday.

Those screened on Monday include former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike; Abubakar Kyari from Borno State; Nkiruka Onyejeocha (Abia State); Bello Muhammad (Sokoto State); Sani Abubakar Danladi (Taraba State); and Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa State).

Others are Joseph Utsev (Benue State), Olubunmi Tunji Ojo (Ondo State), Betta Edu (Cross River State), Uju Kennedy Ohaneye (Anambra State), Abubakar Momoh (Edo State), John Enoh (Cross River State), Iman Suleiman Ibrahim (Nasarawa State), and Yusuf Maitama Tuggar (Bauchi State).

At Monday’s plenary session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio told ministerial nominees that taking a bow during their appearance before the Senate does not mean that they have been cleared or confirmed for any ministerial role.

“At the end of the day, we will go into the clearance and the confirmation; we will confirm whether the person is qualified or not but bowing before the hallowed chamber is a tradition all over the world,” Akpabio said. (Adapted from a Channels TV report)