President Bola Tinubu is set to present a fresh group of ministerial nominees to the Senate for screening today, according to a reliable source within the Senate. The names of the 28 candidates will be read at the plenary on the same day, and the screening process is expected to conclude promptly to make way for the next batch.
The Senate had already screened 14 out of the 28 ministerial nominees on Monday, and on Tuesday, nine more candidates were subjected to the screening process. Some of the notable nominees screened on Tuesday were Senator David Umahi, Olawale Edun, Nasir el-Rufai, Ahmed Dangiwa, Uche Nnaji, Stella Okotete, Adebayo Adelabu, Ekperikpe Ekpo, and Hannatu Musawa.
During the screenings, finance expert Olawale Edun offered his views on the nation’s exchange rate and suggested that Nigeria could learn from India’s success through biometrics-based palliative sharing. Adebayo Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, raised concerns about the lack of supervision and oversight of the CBN’s activities by economic management ministries.
In his screening, Nasir el-Rufai emphasized President Tinubu’s vision to achieve uninterrupted power supply within seven years and expressed regret over Nigeria’s inability to provide reliable electricity despite its vast resources. However, Senator Sunday Karimi raised a petition against El-Rufai regarding issues of insecurity in Southern Kaduna. Despite the petition, other senators commended El-Rufai’s past performances, praising him as a competent candidate for the ministerial position.
The Senate aims to conclude the screening process before the upcoming recess to avoid recalling lawmakers for further screenings during that period. The upcoming batch of ministerial nominees is anticipated to be revealed shortly after the current round of screenings is completed.
