The President’s Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Abdullahi Gumel, has officially delivered the confirmed list of 45 ministerial nominees to the Presidency. According to the Premium Times, he addressed journalists in Abuja on Tuesday to make this announcement.
On Monday, the Senate confirmed the appointments of 45 ministerial nominees but chose to withhold confirmation for three others.
The three individuals who were not confirmed are Nasir El-Rufai, former Governor of Kaduna State; Stella Okete, a nominee from Delta State; and Abubakar Danladi, a former senator from Taraba State.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio stated that these individuals were not confirmed because they are still awaiting security clearance.
Gumel stated, “We transmitted the confirmed list yesterday (Monday) at around 11:30 p.m. to the Chief of Staff to the President. The list is now with the Executive, which means that the ministerial nominees were cleared by the Senate and confirmed.”
He expressed his gratitude to the senators who sacrificed their recess to stay back and complete the screening and confirmation process. He commended their passion and commitment to the work, emphasizing that there was no opposition during the proceedings.
He thanked the 10th Senate for making the executive’s job easier and more interesting.
The number of ministerial nominees was increased from the traditional 42 to 48. “Our President sent 48, so we felt that some of the ministries could be merged or separated for easier oversight by the Senate,” he said.
He mentioned the Ministry of Works and Housing specifically, which they believed should be separated to accommodate the number of ministers. The President will assign portfolios, based on his prerogative, to start the functioning of the government.
He also highlighted the diverse backgrounds of the nominees, who were selected from the private sector as well as being technocrats, politicians, governors, serving and non-serving senators, members of the House of Representatives, and representatives of Nigerian women and youth.
He expressed his hope that they would contribute to achieving the President’s “Renewed Hope” agenda and emphasized that Nigerians are eagerly waiting for the government to start its operations.
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