Confirms 45 of 48 nominees
Okotete may be replaced by Edevbie

The Senate, yesterday, declined to confirm the nomination of the former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, former deputy governor of Taraba State, Sani Abubakar Danladi and Stella Okotete from Delta State as members of the proposed Federal Executive Council (FEC).

45 other ministerial nominees by President Bola Tinubu were confirmed.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, disclosed at the end of yesterday’s session that the three persons whose names were not mentioned were awaiting security clearance.

Tinubu had on July 27, 2023 which was the expiry date of the 60 days deadline imposed by the Constitution, transmitted the names of 28 nominees to the Senate.

He later sent another set of 19 and yet another two after replacing a nominee from Kano Mariam Shetty.

Among those confirmed are nine former governors, as well as serving members of the National Assembly.

It also confirmed the nomination of Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, the nominee from Ondo State and a serving member of the National Assembly, against whom there were claims last week that he allegedly forged his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.

Some senators who spoke to Senate Correspondents in defence of Ojo, described him as one of the young people identified and nominated by the President.

Tunji-Ojo who chaired the House Committee on NDDC in the 9th Assembly, spearheading a probe that led to a series of reforms in the Commission, as well as compelling the Buhari administration to constitute a new board for the NDDC.

Also among nominees confirmed is the former minister of state for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, whose nomination was earlier opposed by lawmakers because of alleged unparliamentary conduct.

However, sources confirmed that el-Rufai might have been dropped because of various petitions against him, which bothers on security and alleged “toxic comments” he has made in the public against “national interest.”

A source said, “Besides, there are reports against him that he can not be trusted and he only wanted to accept the ministerial position to be in vantage position to advance his ambition of running for presidency in 2027, and he is seen as somebody who will work against Tinubu’s second term ambition. He is not a loyal politician who should be trusted by Tinubu.”

But his competence and capacity to deliver on any assignment he was assigned to do might have trumped him against political considerations and fears by some members of President Tinubu’s “wise men.”

For Okotete, investigations revealed that she might have been caught up in the web of power play between former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori and some APC chieftains in Lagos that supported her nomination.

It was gathered that apart from her NYSC and higher education certificates, which petitioners were using to campaign against her nomination, Ibori had insisted on former Delta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in the last election, David Edevbie as ministerial nominee from the state.

Edevbie lost the primary to the incumbent governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the outcome of the primary made Ibori and Edevbie to dump PDP and worked for APC candidate, former senate deputy president Ovie Omo Agege, who lost the election.

The source said: “Although Okotete’s certificates have become an issue but Benson Idahosa University has said she attended the institution but there are some issues yet to be cleared by NEXIM bank where she worked. She is likely to be replaced by Edevbie.

Also, she is from Delta Central Senatorial District like Festus Keyamo, another ministerial nominee that has just been confirmed and the state governor.”