Senate Confirms Balarabe, Bio Ibrahim, Olawande as Ministers

•El-Rufai’s replacement slumps during screening, revived 

•NDDC board nominees confirmed

•Tribune Senate Correspondent dies of cardiac arrest in National Assembly premises

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate yesterday, confirmed the nomination of three ministerial nominees, Balarabe Abbas Lawal (Kaduna), Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim (Kwara) and Ayodele Olawande (Ondo) as ministers.

The senators supported their confirmation in a voice vote immediately after their screening exercise during plenary.

Balarabe, from Kaduna had earlier collapsed at the Senate chamber when he appeared before the senators for screening.

He was the second nominee to be screened after Bio Ibrahim.

He collapsed more than 15 minutes into his screening exercise.

Balarabe, collapsed when Kaduna South Senator, Sunday Marshall Katung, was speaking about his administrative experience in Kaduna State.

The Kaduna lawmaker, who endorsed Balarabe’s ministerial nomination, said all the three senators from the state have no objection to his nomination.

Katung had not finished his remarks when the nominee collapsed, prompting the Senate President Godswill Akpabio to shout, “Give him water, give him water and sugar.”

Akpabio immediately ordered journalists and cameras out of the Senate chamber while the live streaming of the screening was also halted.

As Balarabe collapsed and was quickly put back on a chair by a Sergeants at Arm, there was commotion in the Senate chamber with shouts and calls for doctors from the Clinic.

Akpabio, was shouting “water quickly! water! Coke or sugar! to revive him.”

The Senator representing Adamawa North, Elisha Abbo quickly dashed out of the chamber to go and call the doctors.

The doctors at the National Assembly Clinic  rushed to the Senate’s  Chamber to revive the Ministerial nominee. There was total confusion in the Chamber when the doctors rushed in with their first aid equipment, to revive the Ministerial nominee who was already put on a sit.

Apparently unaware of presence of journalists who stormed the chamber with the doctors, senators gave suggestions on how the nominee could be made stable  after being revived.

Abbo, who earlier ran out of the chamber for emergency solution ran back when he saw the doctors and told them to arrange for an ambulance.

His suggestion was kicked against by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Abdullahi Gumel.

While Bamidele and Gumel, kept on asking the doctors whether Balarabe would be made stable without taking him to the hospital, another Doctor from the National Assembly clinic ran into the chamber with another first aid equipment but got an unpleasant welcome from the President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio who shouted at him to get away from his side.

The offence of the medical doctor was that out of the emergency situation, he wanted to pass through Akpabio’s back to where the ailing ministerial nominee was being attended to.

Being a doctor, he refused to be rattled by Akpabio’s order but later followed the front of the Senate President ‘s seat when prevailed upon by some other Senators.

After regaining his strength and composure, the nominee pleaded with the Senate to allow him continue with the session but was told go and attend to his health.

The Senate resumed the ministerial screening almost one hour after the incident.

Speaking before calling the last nominee, Olawande from Ondo, Akpabio said Balarabe admitted that he was exhausted having over worked for some days before the screening.

“The nominee, Mr. Balarabe Abbas Lawal said he was quit exhausted, and that he rushed to Abuja for his ministerial screening,” the Senate President said.

Akpabio said the nominee insisted on going ahead with the screening, saying he was fine.

The Senate president however called the last nominee, Olawande for screening.

President Bola Tinubu had nominated Abbas Balarabe as a ministerial nominee.

He was to replace former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai in the federal cabinet.

El-Rufai was earlier nominated as a minister but his appointment was not confirmed by the Senate.

The replacement was conveyed in a letter read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio at plenary on Tuesday.

Balarabe’s name was read alongside Ibrahaim and Olawande as Minister of Youths and Minister of State for Youths respectively who were earlier nominated by the president.

Balarabe, a former Secretary to the Kaduna State government was in April, appointed to lead a 65-man transition committee ahead of the swearing-in of Uba Sani.

The Senate had in August refused to confirm the nomination of El-Rufai alongside former Nexim Bank, Managing Director, Stella Okotete (Delta State) and Abubakar Danlandi, a nominee from Taraba State over security clearance.

The ministerial nominee from Ondo State, Olawande, stressed the need to engage youths in productive activities wherever they were in the country.

He explained the need to establish digital training centres in all the communities across the country where the youths would have the opportunities to recreate.

Akpabio, said the 34-year-old community development expert demonstrated commitment, character and competence.

He stressed the need for youths to be given sense of belonging.

Also, yesterday, the Senate confirmed the appointment of the nominees of the President as Chairman, directors and members of the Niger Delta Development Commission.

The red chamber scrutinised the credentials of the Committee of the Whole because the standing committees had yet to be inaugrated.

The nominees who were screened and confirmed were Mr. Chiedu Ebie, Chairman, (Delta State); Dr. Samuel Ogbuku – Managing Director / CEO (Bayelsa); Mr. Boma Iyaye – Executive Director, Finance and Admin, (Rivers); Mr. Victor Antai, Executive Director, Projects (Akwa-Ibom) and Ifedayo Abegunde, Executive Director, Corporate Services (Ondo).

Others were Sen. Dimaro Denyanbofa – State Representative (Bayelsa); Mr. Abasi Ndikan Nkono, State Representative (Akwa Ibom); Rt. Hon. Monday Igbuya, State Representative (Delta); Chief Tony Okocha, State Representative (Rivers); Hon Patrick Aisowieren, State Representative (Edo); and Mr. Kyrian Uchegbu, State Representative (Imo).

The rest were, Hon Patrick Aisowieren, State Representative (Edo); Mr. Kyrian Uchegbu, State Representative (Imo); Otito Atikase, State Representative (Ondo); Chief Dimgba Eruba, State Representative (Abia); Rt. Hon. Orok Out Duke, State Representative (Cross River); Hon. Nick Wende – Zonal Representative,  North Central; Hon. Namdas Abdulrazak, Zonal Representative,  (North East); and Senator Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir, Zonal Representative (North West).

Akpabio told some of his colleagues who had some concerns against certain nominees that their complaints would be resolved by the executive arm of government.

Meanwhile, the Correspondent of the Tribune Newspaper in the Senate, Tijani Yinusa Adeyemi, had cardiac arrest in one of the National Assembly shuttle buses yesterday and died.

He was rushed to the clinic of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation before he was taken to the National Assembly clinic where it was confirmed that he was dead.

The remains of Adeyemi was laid to rest at the Gudu Cemetery in line with Islamic rites.