Connect with us

Politics

Buhari Moves To Lobby Senators To Confirm The Appointment Of 21 Ministerial Nominees

Published

on

The Presidency has begun moves to reach out to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)? senators with a view to persuading them to accept the 21 ministerial nominees President Muhammadu Buhari submitted to the Senate last week even as the upper chamber has fixed next Tuesday for their screening.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Solomon Ita Enang, who was in the office of the Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio yesterday, disclosed that no matter what political differences there may be, the immediate concern is to ensure that there is minimal opposition to the President’s request.

Confirming his motive for meeting with Akpabio, Ita Enang said: “Part of our job is to reach out to all the sections. The past is gone, this is a new beginning,” he noted.

The PDP produced 49 of the 108 senators in the Senate at the moment.

Although, confirmation of a ministerial nominee requires only a simple majority, the Presidency is not taking any chances by assuming that all 59 senators of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC?) would vote in support of all the nominees.

This is mainly because there were issues of lack of consultation with relevant party stakeholders in the states before the list was compiled and submitted.

Shortly after the meeting between the two Akwa Ibom politicians, Akpabio promised to make efforts in ensuring the success of the Buhari administration.?

He said: “We will do our best to ensure robust debate, fine-tune the policies of the APC administration to better the lot of Nigerians and to ensure that Nigeria gets out of the current economic doldrums.

“So far, on a personal note, I am impressed with the list that was sent by the President. I believe that he has kept his word by ensuring that we seek out people of integrity who can salvage the country. But of course, the Senate will still do its work of screening and re-screening and I pray that more than 70 or 80 per cent of the list should pass through.”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *