Juliet Buna
The Senate has approved the appointment of 45 out of the 48 ministerial nominees submitted by President Bola Tinubu.
According to Channels, the nominees were confirmed on Monday evening after the upper legislative chamber concluded the screening of the candidates.
Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna and two other nominees were not confirmed as the senate awaits security clearance about them.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio put the nominations to a series of voice votes, of which three are said to still be undergoing security clearance, including former Governor of Kaduna State Nasir El-Rufai, Stella Okotete (Delta State), and Abubakar Danladi (Taraba State).
The confirmation comes over a week after Tinubu’s transmission of a 28-member list to the red chamber for confirmation on July 27.
Last Monday, the Senate screened 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).
The Senate on Tuesday screened 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 following day, the red chamber screened Dele Alake, Lateef Fagbemi and Muhammad Idris, Ali Pate, and Doris Uzoka.
Tinubu went on to send a supplementary list of 19 nominees to the Senate last Wednesday. Two days later, the President withdrew the nomination of Maryam Shetty of Kano State from the list, replacing her with Festus Keyamo and Mariya Mahmoud.
