Senate confirms Buhari’s seven nominees as minister-designates
The Senate, on Wednesday, June 29,
2022 screened and confirmed the seven Ministerial Nominees whose names were
sent to the Chamber last week by President Muhammadu Buhari for confirmation as
Minister-Designates. The screening exercise which started at about 12 noon
lasted till 4:37 p.m.
Those screened and confirmed as
Minister-Designates include Henry Ikechukwu Ikoh (Abia State), Umana Okon Umana
(Akwa-Ibom State), and Ekumankama Joseph Nkama (Ebonyi State). Others were
Goodluck Nana Opiah (Imo State), Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub (Kano State), Ademola
Adewole Adegoroye (Ondo State), and Udi Odum (Rivers State).
While fielding questions from
lawmakers, the first Nominee, Ikechukwu Ikoh, said in tackling the issue of job
creation, efforts must be made to grant operational licenses to operators of
Modular Refineries in the country.
Another nominee from Akwa-Ibom State,
Umana Okon Umana, who is the Managing Director of the Oil and Gas Free Zones
Authority, underscored the need for Nigeria to step-up its production capacity
so as to boost foreign exchange earnings and reduce the country’s reliance on
importation.
Ekumankama Joseph Nkama, on his part,
admonished young Nigerians to tap into new areas of investment, so as to foster
self-reliance and productivity, particularly in the country’s trade
sector.
On the lingering strike action by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nkama called on the Federal
Government and ASUU to reach a compromise.
He also urged the National Assembly
to provide additional funding for the education sector, so as to meet some of
the demands of the union.
The Nominee said, there will be the
need for compromise. For a very long time ASUU has been sticking to its guns,
that all the agreements reached earlier with the Government must be
implemented. He added that, we know that from the same source - the same
national purse - there are several contending interest seeking for attention.
He advised the Federal Government and
ASUU to come to a compromise through which the lingering crises would be solved
once and for all.
Nkama opined that he knows the
importance of budgetary provision. He appealed to the National Assembly for
increased allocation to the Education Sector in 2023 so that there will be
adequate provision for the sector to address those needs that ASUU members are
asking for.
Lending his voice on the need for an
end to the ASUU strike, Ademola Adewole Adegoroye, said the action by the Union
is against interest of Nigerian students, adding that more effort must be made
by the Government to find a lasting solution to the problems.
Goodluck Nana Opiah, a former member
of the House of Representatives, was asked by the Chamber to take a bow and
leave, in accordance with its tradition of extending such privilege to past
members of the National Assembly.
Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub, the current
Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House
of Representatives), said when sworn-in as a member of the Federal Executive
Council, he would sustain and consolidate on the harmonious working
relationship between the Executive and the National Assembly.
Signed:
Dr. Ezrel Tabiowo, FAI, FIMC, CMC,
FCP, Fsca
Special Assistant (Press)
To President of the Senate
Wednesday, June 29, 2022.