Senate confirms 11 ministerial nominees

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed 11 out of 12 Musiliu Obanikoro presented by President Goodluck Jonathan for screening and confirmation.
Jonathan on January 21 forwarded 12 names to the Senate for confirmation.
They were: Musiliu Obanikoro, Lagos; Mohammed Wakil, Borno; Aminu Wali, Kano; Akon Eyakenyi, Akwa Ibom; Lawrencia Malam, Kaduna; and Aliu Gusau, Zamfara.
The others were: Boni Haruna, Adamawa; Khaliru Alhassan, Sokoto; Hadjia Jamilla Salik, Kano; Abduljelil Adesiyan, Osun; T.W Danagogo, Rivers; and Asabe Ahmed, Niger.
The Senate President, David Mark, said that the screening of Salik, the second nominee from Kano State, had been deferred to another legislative day, although no reason was given.
While Mark was asking the question as to whether the Osun State nominee, Adesiyan, should be confirmed, Senator Olusola Adeyeye (APC-Osun), raised a point of order objecting his nomination.
Adeyeye referred the senators to the tradition in the Senate whereby when three senators from a state objected to the nomination of a ministerial nominee, such a person was not confirmed.
He said that all the three senators from Osun State had objected to Adesiyan’s nomination.
He noted that it was not based on partisan politicking, but on the grounds of credibility crises.
The three senators from Osun are Mudashir Hussain, Babajide Omoworare and Olusola Adeyeye.
According to Adeyeye, the interest of the country would not be best served by Adesiyan.
The efforts of the Osun State senators, however, proved abortive as the Senate president said that the Senate could not become a law court and pass judgment on anyone.
Mark said that since the court had discharged and acquitted the nominee, the Senate could go ahead and confirm him if the voice vote went in his favour.
Mark put the question and those in favour of his confirmation were in the majority and so he was confirmed.
He advised the confirmed nominees to bring additional value on board and not act as though they were a government of their own, but work with all stakeholders.
“You must bring value to the transformation agenda and don’t act as masters, but as servants called to serve in this difficult period of our country,” he said.