Fani-Kayode Berates Ministerial Screening, Describes Process As ‘Pitiful Joke’

A former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, on Tuesday, faulted the screening process adopted by the senate.

He said the screening of some ministerial nominees by simply asking them to “bow and go” was “a display of comic relief.”

In a series of tweets, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain insisted that the current screening was a “pitiful joke.”

He tweeted: “When I was nominated to be a Minister by OBJ 13 years ago in 2006 I was screened by the Senate for no less than two hours and thirty gruelling and very difficult minutes on live television. There is no question that they did not ask me and there is none that I did not answer.

“In those days the Senate had great men and powerful intellectuals in its ranks. What we see today in the name of Ministerial screening is a pitiful joke. “Smile, show your teeth, bow and go” is NOT screening: it is a crass display of comic relief which is far below the Senate.”

Since the commencement of the screening, the senate had asked several of the ministerial nominees to take a “bow and go”.

The Senate refused to quiz some ministerial nominees because they were former lawmakers.

The ministers-designate who had enjoyed the privilege include: Godswill Akpabio, Gbemisola Saraki, Hadi Sirika, Olorunnimbe Mamora, George Akume, Chris Ngige, Tayo Alasoadura, Emeka Nwajuiba, a serving Reps member and surprisingly, Rotimi Amaechi, a former minister of Transportation.

However, ORIENTAL TIMES reports that the Senate on Tuesday concluded the screening of the 43 ministerial nominees sent in by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The exercise took five days with the senate screening all 43 members.

Here is a list of all nominees:

1. Uchechukwu Ogah (Abia)

2. Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom)

3. George Akume (Benue)

4. Ogbonnaya Onu (Ebonyi)

5. Emeka. Nwajuaba (Imo)

6. Olorunnibe Mamora (Lagos)

7. Olamilekan Adegbite (Ogun)

8. Adamu. Adamu (Bauchi)

9. Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers)

10. Sharon Ikeazor (Anambra)

11. Tayo Alasoadura (Ondo)

12. Mustapha Shehuri (Borno)

13. Abubakar Aliyu (Yobe)

14. Bashir Magashi (Kano)

15. Ramatu Aliyu (Kogi)

16. Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa)

17. Zubairu Dada (Niger)

18. Chris Ngige (Anambra)

19. Abdullahi Hassan (Nasarawa)

20. Sunday Dare (Oyo)

21. Muhammad Bello (Adamawa)

22. Sadiya Farouq (Zamfara)

23. Zainab Ahmed (Kaduna)

24. Adeniyi Adebayo (Ekiti)

25. Abubakar Malami (Kebbi)

26. Hadi Sirika (Katsina)

27. Osagie Ehanire (Edo)

28. Paullen Tallen (Plateau)

29. Festus Keyamo (Delta)

30. Ali Isa Pantami (Gombe)

31. Maigari Dingyadi (Sokoto)

32. Babatunde Raji Fashola (Lagos)

33. Dr.Mohammed Mahmoud (Kaduna)

34. Gbemisola Saraki (Kwara)

35. Rauf Aregbesola (Osun)

36. Goddy Jedy- Agba (Cross River)

37. Suleiman Adamu Kazaure (Jigawa)

38. Amb Mariam Katagum (Bauchi)

39. Clement I.K. Anade Agba (Edo)

40. Geoffrey Onyeama (Enugu)

41. Engr. Saleh Mamman (Taraba)

42.Sabo Nanono (Kano)

43.Lai Mohammed (Kwara)