Senate clears 45 ministerial nominees, delays El-Rufai, 2 others’ confirmation

The Senate on Monday confirmed 45 out of the 48 ministerial nominees forwarded to the parliament by President Bola Tinubu.

The Red Chamber concluded the screening exercise with the former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, facing the lawmakers earlier on Monday.

However, the Senate delayed the confirmation of the former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and two others pending clearance from security agencies.

Other affected nominees were Senator Abubakar Danlandi from Taraba State and former managing director of Nexim Bank, Stella Otekete.

The former governor has been under scrutiny over the security challenges in Kaduna State during his tenure.

A former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani, had last month urged the Senate to reject El-Rufai’s nomination over the killings in Southern Kaduna and other parts of the state.

He was also criticised by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in May over remarks he made against Christians a few days after the conclusion of the last general election in the country.

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