Abuja, Nigeria – Ministerial nominees have commenced the documentation process ahead of their Senate screening and confirmation, set to begin today. This was announced by the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Basheer Lado, on Monday evening.
Lado confirmed that nominees were already submitting the required documents as part of the preliminary steps for screening. He noted, “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 Thursday, the Senate received President Bola Tinubu’s formal request for the screening and confirmation of seven new ministerial nominees. The request, conveyed in a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, was read at the start of the plenary session.
The nominees include:
– Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction,
– Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi as Minister of Labour and Employment,
– Bianca Odinaka Odumegwu-Ojukwu as Minister of State, Foreign Affairs,
– Dr. Jumoke Oduwole as Minister of Industry, Trade, and Development,
– Idi Muktar Maiha as Minister of Livestock Development,
– Yusuf Abdullahi Ata as Minister of State, Housing,
– Dr. Suwaiba Said Ahmad as Minister of State, Education.
President Tinubu urged the Senate to consider the nominees swiftly, and Akpabio has referred the request to the Committee of the Whole for deliberation.
This comes after President Tinubu’s recent cabinet reshuffle, which saw five ministers relieved of their positions: Uju-Ken Ohanenye (Women Affairs), Lola Ade-John (Tourism), Prof Tahir Mamman (Education), Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo (State, Housing and Urban Development), and Jamila Bio Ibrahim (Youth).
The Senate is expected to expedite the screening process to fill these key roles in the federal cabinet.
