• Umahi, Wike, Badaru, El-Rufai, make list •Screening begins Monday •New ministries may be created –Gbajabiamila
From Fred Itua, Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, and Kenneth Udeh, Abuja
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, yesterday, unveiled the ministerial-nominees list sent by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This is even as politicians who are yet to make the list have returned to the trenches to intensify lobbying for the few available slots yet to be filled. It is expected that President Tinubu will send a supplementary list to the Senate to meet up with necessary constitutional requirements.
Following the official transmission of names of ministerial-nominees, the Senate has also concluded plans to extend its sitting by at least one week. The chamber is expected to defer its annual recess, which ought to have commenced today, Thursday. It will not commence its annual break next week after the confirmation hearing.
The unveiling of the names followed a point of order raised by Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, who urged his colleagues to allow Femi Gbajabiamila into the chamber to submit the ministerial list.
Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Tinubu, stepped into the chamber at about 1:18pm and left at 1:21pm after submitting the list to Akpabio.
Akpabio, while reading the letter, listed the names. They are Abubakar Momoh, Yusuf Maitama, Architect Dangiwa, Hannatu Musawa, Chief Uche Nnaji, Beta Edu, Doris Aniche, David Umahi and Nyesom Wike
Others are Mohamed Badaru, Nasir El-Rufai, Ekperikpe Ekpo, Nkiru onyejiocha, Olubumi Ojo, Stella okotekpe, Uju Kennedy, Bello Mohammed Goroyo, Dele Alake and Lateef Fagbemi.
Also on the list are Mohammed Idris, Edu Muhi, Wahid Adebayo, Imma Suleiman, Ali pate, Joseph Usev, Abubaka Kyari, John Eno and Sani Abubakar Damladi.
However, Lagos, Osun, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Gombe, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Yobe, Zamfara states are yet to get nominees.
In the absence of standing committees, Akpabio referred the letter to the Committee of the Whole. It means the nominees will be screened during plenary by senators.
Tinubu in the letter, urged the Senate to expedite action and confirm the nominees without delay, to enable him constitute his Federal Executive Council (FEC).
With only 28 names submitted, President Tinubu said he would send more names to the Senate for confirmation in line with the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
According to Section 147(3) of the 1999 Constitution, “The President shall appoint at least one minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state.”
The Senate has adjourned till Monday.
Senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu, told Senate Correspondents afterplenary that the screening will commence on Monday by 11am.He said the it will take days or weeks, but added that the Senate will not be in a hurry to stampede nominees as lawmakers will thoroughly screen every nominee and ensure no sacred cows are protected.
“We’ll meet the expectations of Nigerians. The nominees, when confirmed, will bring life the economic comatose of Nigeria. There will no shadow screening. If you’ve a resumè, you’ve have the character to defend it. We’ve suspended all rules for us to sit on Monday. We’ve suspended our annual recess. This is a national assignment. We’re starting the screening on Monday. It will take days or weeks. We won’t limit ourselves. Every question will be asked.”
Meanwhile, President Tinubu’s administration may create new ministries from the existing ones.
“Mr President intends to separate portfolios or restructure the ministries in such a way you might be hearing of new ministries that were not standalone ministries before. So the process continues,’’ he said.
Gbajabiamila who spoke to State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, shortly after he officially presented the list to the National Assembly, also explained why the president did not attach portfolios to the nominees.
he said Tinubu decided to follow the line of tradition by not attaching the portfolio in the letter to the senate in order to give room for reviews. He said while the screening is ongoing, the president and his team will have the opportunity to decide who fits where.
“Yes, I mean for me that would have been one way to go about it (attaching portfolio), it would have been a welcome development. As good as that sounds, it straitjackets the president to pigeonhole one person to an office or the other.
“What happens if you change your mind, do you then bring the person back for screening again, because the president is at liberty to change his mind. For instance, if I decide I want somebody as minister of labour, and then after sending the name, later on, I decide that, you know what, I didn’t know this about this person, this person would actually be better with another portfolio. Meanwhile, the Senate has screened that person for that initial portfolio, what happens then? Do you now re-screen the person?
“So, a lot of these things have their merits and demerits, advantages and disadvantages. I like the idea of attaching portfolios, I actually do, because it makes it necessary for the Senate to know exactly what you’re asking and what you’re looking for. But for now, it’s been thought wise that we stick to the tradition of sending the names and then whilst the screening processes going on, allow the Mr. President and his team to look at the portfolios and the characters and see how they fit.
“The first step that he has done is that these are people that can work wherever you put them, except specialised fields like attorney general and what have you. But in the main time, he believes most of them can fit in anywhere. And what’s important also is that Mr. President intends to separate portfolios or restructure the ministries in such a way that you might be hearing of new ministries that were not stand alone ministries before. So, the process continues.”
He described the ministerial nominees’ list as mix of technocrats and politicians, who have keyed into the vision and mission of President Bola Tinubu.
“The president took his time. Spent a lot of time going through, did a lot of due diligence going through the nominees one by one. As you know he had 60 days from time of the inauguration, as stipulated in the Constitution. He has fulfilled that requirement of the Constitution by submitting 28 names today.
“As his letter stated, and was read on the floor of the Senate, the remainder names, not sure how many probably about 12, maybe 13 will be forwarded to the Senate in the coming days.”