The Senate, Tuesday, 21st June, received a list of seven ministerial nominees from President Muhammadu Buhari to replace Ministers who had resigned to enable them to contest political party primaries ahead of the 2023 general elections. The nominees include:
- Ikoh Henry Ikechukwu – Abia State
- Umana Okon Umana – Akwa Ibom
- Ekumankama Joseph Nkama – Ebonyi
- Goodluck Nanah Opiah – Imo
- Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub – Kano
- Ademola Adewole Adegoroye – Ondo
- Odum Udi – Rivers
Ministers who resigned recently to contest in primaries include: Godswill Akpabio, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation; Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, Minister of State for Education; Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology; and Uche Ogah, Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development.
The Senate has a reputation for confirming virtually all of the President’s nominees to various positions. It is unclear how this present confirmation hearing will go. However, observers are concerned that the practice of screening presidential nominees in plenary sessions is hardly ever exhaustive or deep. Relevant questions are not asked. This is worsened by the fact that ministerial portfolios or assignments are not disclosed by the President in forwarding his nominees. Seeking to know the competence or ability of a nominee and how this will be applied to their ministerial responsibility is absent.