Senate screens ministerial nominees today

Any moment from now, the Senate will begin screening the ministerial nominees forwarded to it for confirmation by President Bola Tinubu last Wednesday.
The nominees, who have been reportedly cleared by the Department of State Services (DSS), besieged the office of the Special Adviser (SA) to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado, yesterday, to submit their curriculum vitae to beat the deadline.
According to Vanguard, the ministers of education, trade and investment, and livestock were the first to submit theirs earlier in the day.
The Special Assistant in a statement, confirmed that ministerial nominees had commenced documentation, ahead of their screening and confirmation by the Senate, which commences today.
The statement read: “He stated that the nominees were already submitting relevant documents as first in the series of procedures for the screening and confirmation of ministerial nominees.
“The nominees are expected to be screened and confirmed by the Senate in compliance with Section 147 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended).”
Last Wednesday, President Tinubu had written the Senate, seeking for the screening and subsequent confirmation of appointments of seven ministerial nominees announced in Abuja.
The President’s request was contained in a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and read last Thursday during plenary.
The ministerial nominees were Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, Minister of Labour and Employment; Dr Nentawe Yilwatda, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; and Bianca Odinaka Odumegu-Ojukwu, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs.
Others were Idi Maiha, Minister of Livestock Development; Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Development; Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, Minister of State, Housing and Dr Suwaiba Ahmad, Minister of State, Education.
President Tinubu in the letter had sought expeditious consideration of his request by the Senate.
Accordingly as announced by Akpabio, the Senate immediately referred the presidential request to the Committee of the Whole for consideration.
Akpabio said: “Distinguished colleagues, the presidential request is referred to the committee of the whole for consideration very soon.”