“Nigerian Senate Delays Confirmation of Nasir El-Rufai as Minister Pending Security Clearance; Approves 45 Other Nominees
On Monday, the Nigerian Senate postponed the confirmation of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai as a minister due to security clearance issues. The Senate, however, gave the green light to 45 out of the 48 ministerial nominees submitted by President Bola Tinubu.
Following the conclusion of the screening process, the upper legislative chamber confirmed the majority of the nominees on Monday evening.
Nevertheless, the confirmations of Nasir El-Rufai, Stella Okotete from Delta State, and Sani A Danladi from Taraba State were put on hold as the Senate awaited security clearance information regarding them.
Among those confirmed were Ekperikpe Ekpo (Akwa Ibom), Heineken Lolokpobri (Bayelsa), Betta Edu (Cross River), John Owan Enoh (Cross River), Festus Keyamo (Delta), Abubakar Momoh (Edo), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Tahir Mamman (Adamawa), Yusuf Maitama Tuggar (Adamawa), Ali Pate (Bauchi), Abubakar Kyari (Borno), Alkali Ahmed Saidu (Gombe), Uba Maigari Ahmadu (Taraba), Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe), Mohamed Badaru (Jigawa), Mariya Mahmoud Bunkure (Kano), and Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo (Kano).
The list of confirmed nominees also includes Ahmad Dangiwa (Katsina), Hannatu Musawa (Katsina), Yusuf Tanko Sununu (Kebbi), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Bello M Goronyo (Sokoto), Bello Matawwalle (Zamfara), Nkiru Onyejiocha (Abia), Uju Ohaneye (Anambra), David Umahi (Ebonyi), Uche Nnaji (Enugu), Doris Uzoka (Imo), Dele Alake (Ekiti), Tunji Alausa, and Lola Ade John from Lagos State. Also amongst the confirmed ministerial nominees are Ishak Salako, Bosun Tijani, and Olawale Edun from Ogun State, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo (Ondo), Adegboyega Oyetola (Osun), Adebayo Adelabu (Oyo), Joseph Utsev (Benue), Zaphaniah Bitrus Jisalo (FCT), Shaibu Abubakar Audu (Kogi), Lateef Fagbemi (Kwara), Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim (Nasarawa), Mohammed Idris, and Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi from Niger State, as well as Simon Bako Lalong (Plateau).
Prior to their confirmation, the Senate witnessed a commotion when the Senate Minority Whip, Senator Darlington Nwokocha (LP, Abia Central), raised concerns about Festus Keyamo, a ministerial nominee from Delta State, during his screening.
Nwokocha accused Keyamo of disrespecting the 9th National Assembly and labeling the previous Assembly as corrupt when summoned to explain the execution of the special works program under his purview as a Minister in the last Buhari administration.
Subsequently, the Senate went into a closed-door session, after which President Godswill Akpabio announced the confirmation of the nominees. The senators at the plenary cleared the nominees by voice vote during the Committee of the Whole, as Akpabio read out their names one by one.”
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