Leadership (Abuja)
20 November 2008
The Senate will today commence the screening of the ministerial nominees submitted to it last Tuesday for confirmation by President Umaru Musa YarAdua, even as some Senators yesterday declared that they would be very thorough in the screening exercise in order to ensure that only the best were cleared for the cabinet positions.
President Yar'Adua had on Tuesday, submitted the names of 13 persons to the Senate, seeking for approval to make them his cabinet members.
Prominent among them were former Presidential Adviser on Petroleum Matters to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr. Rilwan Lukman, former Ebonyi State governor and defeated National Chairmanship candidate for the PDP,Dr. Sam Egwu and incumbent Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Dora Akuyili among others.
Although the Presidential nominees had come under criticisms either individually or collectively, however, President Yar'Adua on Tuesday, pleaded with the Senators to speed up the screening process so as to enable him bring the new nominees on board his administration.
From across the land came criticisms about the caliber of most of the personalities nominated for the ministerial seats, while some were not happy that the president has just recycled old horses, in some other quarters, the people are sad that most of those appointed should have retired from public service to allow younger and more energetic persons come in for better productivity.
From the Senate, some Senators had vowed that they would ensure that only those who were suitable and qualified to hold such sensitive positions like that of the minister would scale through the screening process.
"We would be very thorough in the screening process; we would make sure that we enquire about the suitability of such persons and their preparedness and willingness to carry out the functions of a minister.
"We should ensure that the era of nominees walking in and out simply because of pressure or connection from above is over. We shall subject each of them to the proper process of screening", a Senator who did not want his name mentioned, told our correspondent.
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