In a surprising move, the Senate has announced that it will commence the screening of the 28 ministerial nominees presented by President Bola Tinubu on Monday.
The spokesperson for the Senate, Adeyemi Adaramodu (APC-Ekiti), disclosed this during a press briefing on Thursday after the list of nominees was read in the upper chamber.
Despite the traditional non-sitting Mondays, Mr. Adaramodu stated that the Senate has suspended all its rules to accommodate the screening process on the said day.
He emphasized that the scrutiny of the nominees would be thorough, as the lawmakers are well aware of the high expectations placed on those who will assist Mr. Tinubu in fulfilling his mandate and adhering to the constitution.
“The Senate is committed to examining the character, personality, and experiences of every nominee. We firmly believe that Nigerians will not be disappointed with the outcome of this process,” added Mr. Adaramodu.
“We expect that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) formed after the screening will breathe new life into Nigeria’s ailing economy.”
Mr. Adaramodu made it clear that the Senate aims to achieve high-velocity performance, stating that they will ‘eyemark’ rather than earmark the performances of the nominees.
There will be no strict time allocation for individual nominees; if a nominee requires three hours or even a whole day for scrutiny, so be it.
Addressing concerns about nominees with pending cases at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Adaramodu assured the public that all the nominees had undergone thorough security screening checks by the executive.
However, he emphasized that if any red flags are raised, the Senate will investigate the matter diligently. Mr. Adaramodu concluded with a strong assurance that Nigerians will not be disappointed by the 10th Senate.
With the screening process commencing on Monday, the annual recess of the National Assembly, initially scheduled to begin on Thursday, has been postponed until after the exercise.
