ABUJA – Senate yesterday, screened Sen. Patricia Akwashiki (Nasarawa), Prof. Nicholas Akise Ada (Benue), Col. Augustine Okwudiri Akobundu – retd. (Abia) and Engr. Fidelis Nwankwo (Ebonyi) for confirmation as Ministers of the Federal Republic.
However, they were not immediately confirmed but, the screening of Mrs. Hauwa’u Lawan (Jigawa), Sen. Mohammed Musiliu Obanikoro, (Lagos), Mr. Kenneth Kobani (Rivers) and Sen. Joel Danlami Ikenya (Taraba) has been postponed till next week, when necessary confirmation or rejection of the nominees would be done.
Before the screening, the Senate had gone into a one and half hour closed doors starting from 11a.m. apparently, to pacify possible frayed nerves of senators who were dissatisfied with the list.
Senators of the major opposition party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), had rejected the nomination of Sen. Musiliu for his alleged ignoble role in the Ekiti gubernatorial election of 2014. They therefore vowed to stop his confirmation by the Senate.
Sen. Akwashiki who served in the last Senate had an easy sail, as she was within two minutes of appearance before the senators asked to take a bow and go.