The Department of State Services (DSS) and the Office of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, sent letters to the Nigerian Senate, urging the lawmakers not to confirm three of President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial nominees.
The three affected nominees indicted in the DSS and NSA letters were a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, Stella Okotete and Senator Abubakar Danladi from Taraba State.
The Nigerian Senate confirmed 45 out of the 48 ministerial nominees sent in by Tinubu.
After seven days of screening, the Senate left out El-Rufai, Danladi, a former Deputy Governor of Taraba State and the female nominee from Delta State, Okotete.
Top sources at the Senate told SaharaReporters on Monday that the Director-General of the DSS and the NSA wrote to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, advising the upper chamber not to confirm the nomination of the trio.
“The NSA, Ribadu and the DG of DSS have just sent us letters not to clear El-Rufai, Senator Abubakar Danladi from Taraba and Stella Okotete from Delta. The Senate President just read it to us now at the closed-door session. He didn’t give it to us anyway,” one of the sources revealed.
“The letter from the NSA and DG DSS cited security reasons, saying the Senate should defer the confirmation of the trio for now, for national security. The senate president is holding the document sent to him tight and has not released it to anyone,” another source added.
A group of protesters under the aegis of Secure Nation Group (SNG) in Abuja staged a protest on the premises of the National Assembly to call on the lawmakers not to confirm El-Rufai as minister.
The protesters, displaying placards, defied the presence of security operatives who barricaded the main gate of the building as they chanted anti-government songs.
The group expressed surprise that El-Rufai’s name was listed as a ministerial nominee despite his alleged religious colouration which the group described as dangerous to the unity of the nation.
They noted that the Tinubu-led government should investigate and prosecute El-Rufai over alleged genocidal attacks on predominantly Shia Muslim communities in Kaduna State.
The Nigerian Senate confirmed 45 out of the 48 ministerial nominees of President Bola Tinubu.
However, the Senate failed to confirm the nomination of the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State and the ministerial nominee from Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
After its seven days of screening of the forty nine ministerial nominees sent to it for screening by President Tinubu, the Senate did not also confirm the appointment of the former Deputy Governor of Taraba State and a Ministerial nominee from the State, Senator Abubakar Danladi.
Also not confirmed by the Upper Chamber is one of the Ministerial nominees from Delta State, Stella Okotete.
According to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Senate did not clear the three because of security reports that must be cleared.
The full list of the 45 confirmed nominees are;
1.
ABUBAKAR KYARI BORNO STATE
2.
ABUBAKAR MOMOH
EDO STATE
3.
NYESOM WIKE
RIVERS STATE
4.
PROF. JOSEPH UTSEV
BENUE STATE
5.
JOHN ENO
CROSS RIVER STATE
6.
BELLO MOHAMMED
SOKOTO STATE
7.
MOHAMMED BADARU ABUBAKAR
JIGAWA STATE
8.
YUSUF MAITAMA TUGGAR
BAUCHI STATE
9.
UJU KEN OHANEYE
ANAMBRA STATE
10.
OLUBUNMI TUNJI OJO
ONDO STATE
11.
NKEIRUKA ONYEJEOCHA
ABIA STATE
12.
BETTA EDU
CROSS RIVER STATE
13.
IMAAN SULEIMAN
NASARAWA STATE
14.
DAVID UMAHI
EBONYI STATE
15.
ADEBAYO OLAWALE EDUN
OGUN STATE
16.
AHMED MUSA DANGIWA
KATSINA STATE
17.
UCHE NNAJI
ENUGU STATE
18.
DELE ALAKE
EKITI STATE
19.
WAHEED ADEBAYO ADELABU
OYO STATE
20.
MUHAMMAD IDRIS
NIGER STATE
21.
PROF. ALI PATE
BAUCHI STATE
22.
DR DORIS UZOKA
IMO STATE
23.
LATEEF FAGBEMI (SAN)
KWARA STATE
24.
EKPERIKPE EKPO
AKWA IBOM STATE
25.
HANNATU MUSAWA
KATSINA STATE
26.
IBRAHIM GEIDAM
YOBE STATE
27.
ALIYU SABI ABDULLAHI
NIGER STATE
28.
HEINEKEN LOKPOBIRI
BAYELSA STATE
29.
ALKALI AHMED SA’EED
GOMBE STATE
30.
DR. YUSUF TANKO SUNUNU
KEBBI STATE
31.
ATIKU BAGUDU
KEBBI STATE
32.
BELLO MATAWALLE
ZAMFARA STATE
33.
ADEGBOYEGA OYETOLA
OSUN STATE
34.
SIMON BAKO LALONG
PLATEAU STATE
35.
ABDULLAHI TIJJANI GWARZO
KANO STATE
36.
BOSUN TIJJANI
OGUN STATE
37.
DR MARIYA MAHMOUD
KANO STATE
38.
DR ISIYAKA SALAKO
OGUN STATE
39.
DR TUNJI ALAUSA
LAGOS STATE
40.
LOLA ADE JOHN
LAGOS STATE
41.
PROF. TAHIR MAMMAN
ADAMAWA STATE
42.
ZEPHANIAH JISSALO
F.C.T
43.
UBA MAIGARI AHMADU
TARABA STATE
44.
SHUAIBU ABUBAKAR AUDU
KOGI STATE
45.
FESTUS KEYAMO (SAN)
DELTA STATE
