After seven days of screening, the Senate has confirmed 45 of the 48 ministerial nominees presented by President Bola Tinubu.
Those who were denied confirmation, yesterday, over security report or pending security checks are immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai; former Deputy Governor of Taraba State, Senator Abubakar Danladi; and Stella Okotete, from Delta State. The trio had petitions against their nominations.
Specifically, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said the Senate did not clear them because of security reports that must be cleared.
However, the senators confirmed immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike; Deputy Majority Senate Leader and former Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi; former Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo SAN; Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Simon Bako Lalong and Mr. Dele Alake as Ministers-designate.
Also confirmed were Abubakar Momoh; Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Arch. Ahmed Dangiwa, Mr. Hannatu Musawa, Chief Uche Nnaji, Dr. Betta Edu, Dr. Dorris Aniche Uzoka, Alhaji Badaru Abubakar, Ekperipe Ekpo, and Nkiru Onyejeocha.
The lawmakers also cleared Uju Kennedy Ohaneye, Bello Muhammad Goronyo, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Muhammad Idris, Olawale Edun, Waheed Adebayo Adelabu, Mrs Iman Suleiman Ibrahim, Professor Ali Pate, Professor Joseph Utsev, Senator Abubakar Kyari, and Senator John Enoh.
The rest are Lola Ade- John, Bosun Tijani, Dr. Isiaka Salako, Professor Tahir Mamman, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud Mairiga, Adegboyega Oyetola, Ibrahim Geidam, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Senator Alkali Ahmed Said, Senator Atiku Bagudu, Bello Matawalle, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, and Honourable Zephaniah Jisalo, and Tunji Alausa.
With the development, the North-West and South-West have nine ministers-designate each; the North-Central has eight, South-South and North-East seven each, and South-East has five.
Case against el-Rufai
When El-Rufai appeared before the Senate for screening, the Chairman, Senate Services Committee, Senator Sunday Karimi ( APC, Kogi West), said he had a heavy petition against the former Kaduna governor.
Senator Karimi, who disclosed that the petition which he had in a brown envelope, bordered on the issue of insecurity, said: "Mr President, I have a petition written against the nominee over the issue of insecurity in Southern Kaduna when he was governor. If I am permitted, I will like to read the petition."
However, Senate President Akpabio, who refused to take the petition, said a number of petitions were submitted against some of the ministerial nominees, adding that it was not time to entertain petitions against any nominee.
He said: "This is not the place to consider petitions, we will sit with the petitions later and refer them to relevant authorities. Please, take a bow and go, my brother," he told el-Rufai
Speaking with journalists after the confirmation yesterday, Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South), said of the 48 ministerial nominees sent to the Senate for screening, the legislators confirmed 45 whose names would be forwarded to the President for other necessary action.
Prior to the confirmation, the Senate threw its weight behind Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, the nominee from Ondo State and a serving member of the National Assembly following claims last week that he allegedly forged his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.
Some senators, who spoke to journalists, described Tunji-Ojo as one of the young people screened by the Senate to join the National Executive Council of President Tinubu.
Tunji-Ojo was among the first set of nominees to appear before the Senate.
Asked to speak on the controversy surrounding the nominee, a ranking senator, who pleaded to be anonymous, dismissed media reports against Tunji-Ojo, describing them as mere political intrigues emanating from other interests within his home state.
The man, el-Rufai
Born on February 16, 1960, to a Fulani family in Daudawa, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, was educated at Barewa College.
In 1976, he graduated at the top of his class and proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, ABU, where he received a bachelor's degree in Quantity Surveying with first class honours.
In 1984, El-Rufai received a Master of Business Administration from ABU. In August 2008, he received a law degree from the University of London; and a master's degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in June 2009.
El-Rufai, who was a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory from between 2003 and 2007, also served as governor of Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023.
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Okotete's nomination opposed from Delta
Stella Okotete, whose nomination was opposed by some stakeholders from her native Delta State, is a trailblazer in education and leadership. She was born on April 20, 1984, in Warri, Delta State.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in International Studies and Diplomacy from Benson Idahosa University, a Diploma in Law from the Rivers State College of Arts and Sciences.
She has certificates from institutions such as Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, the University of Virginia, INSEAD Business School in France, University of Oxford's Saïd Business School, Pan Atlantic University's Enterprise Development Centre and Columbia Business School in New York.
Before being appointed as Special Assistant, SA, MDGs in Delta State, she served as an elected councillor in Ughelli-North Local Government Area.
On April 20, 2017, Okotete was appointed as Executive Director, Business Development of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, NEXIM,by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
