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The Senate President, Senator David Mark, who received the list through an executive communication from the Presidential Liaison Officer to the Senate, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, promised a thorough screening of the nominees in the committee of the whole Senate.
The names on the list were being kept as “top secret” on Wednesday as government officials refused to divulge the identities of the nominees.
“We are under strict instructions from the President that the list must not be leaked to the public before it gets to the floor of the Senate,” a government official said on Wednesday
the list contains the first batch of nominees. The newsmen were told on Wednesday that another batch, containing “special nominations” and possibly nominations from other parties, is expected to be submitted soon.
The list was forwarded to the Senate on Wednesday by President Yar’Adua contains mostly professional politicians spiced with one or two technocrats. There was also no immediate past governor on the list.
The list was bereft of known technocrats save for the inclusion of the Director-General Budget Office in the Presidency, Mr. Bode Agusto, and past president of Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) and controversial Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Imo State, Engineer Charles Ugwu.
Agusto is to represent Lagos State in the cabinet while Ugwu will represent Imo State.
Disagreements between the Senate President and the former state governor, Chief George Akume, mean there is no nominee from the state for now.
Among those who appeared to have lost out in the intense intrigues that had characterised the impending cabinet were Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Brig.General Raji Rasaki (rtd), Senator Udoma Udo-Udoma, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, Prof. Dora Akunyili, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, Senator Isaiah Balat and Chief Austin Opara.
The newsman had earlier exclusively reported that no former PDP governor made the ministerial list. The newsmen had also reported that the list would be submitted in two batches.
The prospective portfolios of the nominees were not known on Wednesday.
But ahead of the final submission of the list, the newsmen checks had revealed that preliminary screening of some of the prospective ministers had earlier begun in the Senate.
There were strong indications that the final ministerial list would be read on the floor of the Senate today.
The reading of President Yar’Adua covering letter and the list of nominees, under announcement is expected to set the stage for the screening and confirmation hearing next Tuesday.
Also, the Special Adviser (Media and Public Relations) to the Senate President, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said in a statement that Mark received the envelop containing the list from Ita-Giwa, with a promise that the Senate would conduct a “transparent and open screening.”
Ologbondiyan said the upper legislative chamber had expressed its readiness to start the confirmation process immediately if the executive provided the details on each of the nominees before the close of work on Monday.
He quoted Mark as saying that the list “is long awaited (and) we will do justice in the confirmation exercise and we shall be thorough because the nation has been waiting for this list.”
He said that Mark received the list in company with his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
According to him, “The Senate President said that the speed of this administration is to ensure that things are done right rather than being hasty and making mistakes.”
He said Senator Ekweremadu urged Ita-Giwa to contact all the nominees to be available next week to enable the Senate commence work on the screening
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“Talks are on-going with the opposition parties but allowances have been made to accommodate the outcome of these talks. Also nominees were put through rigorous investigations to ensure that the confirmation would not be problematic.
“I also want to say that this is the authentic list and we have prepared the credentials of all the nominees,” she said.
Meanwhile, the newsmen checks revealed that even in spite of the initial delay over the final unveiling of the ministerial list, some of the would-be ministers had been given forms, which sources in the Senate called screening forms, to fill.
It was gathered that the forms given the ministerial nominees were for them to enter their biographical data and provide other background information on themselves.
“You know the Senate needs to know these would-be ministers before they formally appear on the floor of the Senate. They don’t just come before the Senate like that. There has to be information for the screening,” said a source.
Not a few nominees were known to have filled the forms on Wednesday in Abuja.
It was however learnt that those given the screening forms were the nominees on whom the state chapters of the PDP and their governors were in agreement.
Each of the 36 state chapters of the party was asked to forward three names to Abuja for possible inclusion in the cabinet of President Yar’Adua.
Some other nominees are expected to emerge from the ongoing discussions between the President and leaders of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Action Congress (AC) on the proposed Government of National Unity (GNU).
But the nomination of some of the prospective ministers is still raising dust and the battle may be resolved on the floor of the Senate.
Some of the states whose nominations are still generating ripples included Kogi, Oyo, Adamawa and Ogun.
The ministerial nomination in respect of Kogi State is said to have been lopsided in favour of Kogi East senatorial zone.
Two of the three nominees for the state namely Chief Gabriel Aduku and Alhaji Abdulrasaq Kutepa hail from the Igala speaking areas of the state which had produced the Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, and the PDP National Chairman, Senator Ahmadu Ali.
It was gathered that the initial arrangement was that if Kogi East produced the governor then Kogi West should produce the ministers.
The Senators representing the state are said to be waiting to resolve the matter on the floor of the Senate.
The tradition in the Senate for screening ministerial nominees is to first seek the opinion of the three Senators representing the state the nominee hails from on the appointment.
If two of the Senators are opposed to the nomination, the appointment of the would-be minister may run into a hitch.
Another contentious nomination is in respect of Oyo State. Whereas Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu paved the ground for the nomination of former Lagos State military administrator, Brig. Gen. Raji Rasaki (rtd), the state governor, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, was said to have forwarded the name of Chief Remi Babalola, a candidate of Alhaji Arisekola Alao.
But some of the senators from the state are saying they do not know Babalola within the party.
In Ogun, former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, was said to have endorsed the nomination of the former secretary to the state government, Alhaji Sarafa Tunji Ishola, while the state Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, felt the minister from the state should be the PDP Chairman in the state, Elder Joju Fadairo.
In Adamawa State where another former military administrator of Lagos State, Brig. Gen Buba Marwa, was among the three nominated to represent the state, the name of Alhaji Tukur was said to have been brought in. Tukur is said to be of the same Fulani stock and from the same senatorial district with the state Governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd).
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