There is a strong indication that out of the 47 ministerial nominees sent to the Senate for screening , a breakdown of the nominees shows that North West has 10,North East has eight, North Central has seven, South West has nine ,South East has 5 and South South which has seven.
Barely seven days after the submission of a list of 28 ministerial nominees to the Senate, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday submitted a fresh batch of 19 names.
With the new names, the total number of ministerial nominees has now come to 47, the highest since the return of the country to democracy in 1999.
The ministerial nominees by geopolitical zones reveal that North West – 10, South West- 9, North East- 8, North Central- 8, South South- 7, and South East- 5, making it a total of 47.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that in the North West which has 10, Kano, Kebbi and Katsina have 2 slots each.
In the North East which has eight, Taraba, Bauchi have 2 slots each,
While in the North Central which has seven, Niger and FCT have has 2 slots each.
In the South West which has nine,Ogun has 3 while Lagos has 2 slots. For South East which has 5, No state with an additional slot and South South which has seven, Cross River has 2 slots.
According to the letter by the president, the nominees were; Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo, Bosun Tijani, Dr Maryam Shetty, Isiak Salako, Tunji Alausa, Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu, Adegboyega Oyetola, Atiku Bagudu and Bello Matawalle.
Other new nominees are Ibrahim Geidam, Simon Lalong, Lola Ade John, Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, Prof Tahir Mamman, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Senator Alkali Ahmed Saidu, Senator Heineken Lokpobori, Uba Maigari Ahmadu and Zaphaniah Bitrus Jisalo
The Senate is expected to reconvene on Friday, 4th of August 2023 for the continuation of the ministerial confirmation hearing.
Meanwhile, immediate-past spokesman to Tinubu and a ministerial nominee, Dele Alake, has called for the regulation of social media.
Alake spoke during the ongoing ministerial confirmation hearing on Wednesday. He claimed that if the social media space is left unchecked, Nigeria could run into trouble.
He said: “There are concerns about the social media. There are positive and negative sides. The downside is so detrimental to a decent and good society. I support strengthened regulations. During my time as journalists, we didn’t have this issue.
“I’ll recommend strengthening of our laws and regulations of social media. I’ll support any actions from the National Assembly to handle the issue of social media.
“I’m not advocating absolute press freedom without responsibility. When an information is irresponsible, it can lead to chaos. I’ll uphold these views to my grave.”
Other nominees screened were Fagbemi, Muhammad Idris, Professor Ali Pate and Doris Anite Uzoka.
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