- Pix above: Abbas Lawal Balarabe and Senate
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The Senate, on Wednesday, confirmed the ministerial nomination of Abbas Balarabe from Kaduna State, whose name was forwarded by President Bola Tinubu in replacement for ex-Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, whose nomination was rejected by the Senate.
The Senate also confirmed the ministerial nomination of 37-year-old Dr Jamila Ibrahim from Kwara State and 34-year-old Ayodele Olawande from Ondo State.
The State Online reports that after the screening of Ibrahim, who took the podium first, the session was thrown into pandemonium during the screening of Balarabe, who slumped on the podium shortly after introducing himself to the Senate.
Balarabe had just finished sharing his experiences and track record with the senators when the incident occurred, about 15 minutes into his screening session.
Senator Sunday Katung from Kaduna South Senator was on his feet making submissions in support of Balarabe’s nomination when the nominee suddenly collapsed. The incident saw the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, shouting, “Give him (Balarabe) sugar and water, Call Dr Musa!
Akpabio also instructed journalists and cameramen to stop filming and to leave the Senate chamber.
Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Senate, Yemi Adaramodu, explained that the Senate went on to confirm Balarabe notwithstanding that he slumped because he had passed all the necessary checks.
Adaramodu said, “The nominee has been stabilised and he is fine now. Due to fatigue, he went down during his screening.
“The nominee wanted to continue but the Senate told him to go and seek further medical attention and rest.
“We told him we had his resumé, which is very rich, so we didn’t see the need to belabour him anymore.
“The nominees wanted to continue with the screening but the Senate insisted that he shouldn’t. We told him that truly he wanted to serve Nigeria but he can’t serve Nigeria in death. He needs to be alive to serve.
“We have seen his resumé, we have heard from him and all necessary security checks have been confirmed.”
Adaramodu added that the Senate was also impressed by the performance of the two youthful nominees.
This is more so, after Senator Sunday Katung from Kaduna South, had earlier, on behalf of the three Kaduna senators, confirmed they have mutually agreed to his nomination./SHARE THIS
