President Bola Tinubu has sought Senate’s confirmation of three nominees for appointment as ministers.
The request was contained in a letter addressed to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and read at plenary, yesterday.
He, however, failed to make a fresh nominee from the Southeast, despite repeated appeals from stakeholders to consider the geopolitical zone.
In July, Tinubu named 48 ministerial nominees. While some geopolitical zones got nine slots, the Southeast with five states, got only the constitutionally mandatory five slots. Following the development, governors from the region and other political stakeholders pleaded with President Tinubu to consider the zone.
In the new list, Nasir El-Rufai from Kaduna State was replaced with Balarabe Abbas Lawal.
Tinubu, in the communication, also formally requested the Senate to confirm the nomination of Jamila Bio Ibrahim from Kwara State, and Ayodele Olawande from Ondo State as ministers.
The Senate had, in August, after screening the first 48 ministerial nominees forwarded to it in July by President Tinubu, confirmed 45 and withheld the confirmation of three.
Aside from El-Rufai, the two other nominees rejected then were Stella Okotete from Delta State, and Abubakar Danladi from Taraba State.
Though the Senate adjourned plenary to today, it has not fixed a date for screening and possible confirmation of the three new nominees.
Meanwhile, barely 48 hours after President Tinubu announced measures to cushion the pains of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians, members of the Senate Committee on Gas, led by Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, have urged the executive to expeditiously present a 2023 supplementary budget to the National Assembly to kick-start his Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) project.
They insisted the law frowns at extra budgetary spending. The committee chairman, who commended President Tinubu for the CNG initiative, however, warned it would be illegal to spend taxpayers’ money or the money without approval by the National Assembly and other projects in the gas value chain, which are cheaper than the use of fossil fuel.
According to a statement, the senators also advised against extra budgetary expenditure through ‘Ways and Means’, saying the legislature was ready to support and bring succor to the people.
Jarigbe commended Tinubu on his CNG revolution to power vehicles. He said the initiative would ameliorate the hardship of the citizens.
•FG commissions 4 buses for civil servants
Meanwhile, the Federal Government, in a bid to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal on civil servants, has commissioned four refurbished buses for the immediate use of its staff.
The buses are to operate within four designated routes, pending the delivery of the Federal Government’s compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.
The buses were commissioned by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF), Folasade Yemi-Esan,
Those refurbished include a 33-seater Coaster bus for Nyanya- Mararraba-Masaka route; while the other three 18-seater buses are to ply the Kubwa-Suleja, Dutsen Alhaji-Bwari and Airport-Gwagwalada routes.
Yemi-Esan was represented at the commissioning ceremony by the Permanent Secretary, Common Services Office-OHCSF, Lydia Jafiya, in Abuja, yesterday.
While commending the resilience of the staff, who defied all odds to ensure they are at their duty posts, Yemi-Esan said the effort by the management, among others to come, will serve as a succor to their transportation burden.
She called on the union, drivers and the staff to make effective use of the buses by owning, managing and maintaining them, so that they can sustainably serve the purpose for which they are meant for.
The head of service further directed for the immediate deployment of the buses to the respective routes with proper branding on them for ease of identification.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, Director, General Services, Bala Mohammed, thanked the HoCSF and the management for the quick intervention, highlighting that it was the first of its kind and a very welcomed development.
He said: “This goes a long way in demonstrating the commitment of the management to the welfare of civil servants.”
Director, Human Resource Management, Raymond Uwaneyi, in a vote of thanks, appreciated the management and all those involved, on behalf of the entire staff of OHCSF.