THE SENATE yesterday confirmed 45 out of the 48 ministerial nominees sent it by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu as Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with security checks blocking former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and two others from confirmation.
The other two nominees affected by the security checks are former deputy governor of Taraba State, Sani Danladi and the former executive director of Nexim Bank, Stella Okotete, who is from Delta State.
President Tinubu had transmitted 47 names in two batches to the Senate, through his Chief of Staff, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila on Monday last week.
SEE ALSO:Keyamo Screened After Apology to Lawmakers
Afterwards, the presidency withdrew the name of Dr. Maryam Shetty from Kano and replaced her with Dr Mariya Bunkure, her secondary school mate at the Kano Foundation School.
The confirmation follows after the screening and approval of the nominees by the Senate, after a week of drills of the nominees from Monday last week until yesterday.
The Senate however had it smooth with all the nominees except Barrister Festus Keyamo, who was the last to be screened. The Senate had earlier raised a motion to stand down his screening and subsequent confirmation over his unruly attitude and negligence to invitations earlier sent him in the 9th senate.
SEE ALSO: Akpabio Runs to Tinubu As Senators Query Keyamo
The list of the 45 ministerial nominees as confirmed by the Senate through Godswill Akpabio, Senate President are: Ekperikpe Ekpo (Akwa Ibom), Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa), Betta Edu (Cross River), John Enoh (Cross River), Abubakar Momoh (Edo), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Tahir Mamman (Adamawa), Yusuf M Tuggar (Bauchi), Ali Pate ( Bauchi), Festus Keyamo (Delta), Abubakar Kyari (Borno), Alkali Ahmed Saidu (Gombe), Uba Maigari Ahmadu (Taraba), Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Mohamed Badaru(Jigawa), Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (Niger), Mariya Bunkure ( Kano), Abdullahi T Gwarzo (Kano), Ahmad Dangiwa (Katsina), Hanatu Musawa (Katsina), Yusuf Tanko Sununu (Kebbi), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Bello M Goronyo (Sokoto) and Bello Matawwalle (Zamfara).
RELATED STORY: Ministerial Nominees: Tinubu Forwards Final List To Senate
Others are Nkiru Onyejiocha (Abia), Uju Ohaneye (Anambra), David Umahi ( Ebonyi), Chief Uche Nnaji (Enugu), Doris Uzoka (Imo), Dele Alake (Ekiti), Tunji Alausa (Lagos), Lola Ade John (Lagos), Ishak Salako (Ogun), Bosun Tijjani (Ogun), Olawale Edun (Ogun), Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo(Ondo), Adegboyega Oyetola (Osun), Adebayo Adelabu (Oyo), Joseph Utsev (Benue), Zaphaniah Bitrus Jisalo (FCT), Shuaibu Audu (Kogi), Lateef Fagbemi (Kwara), Imaan S-Ibrahim (Nasarawa) and Mohammed Idris (Niger).
