Wike becomes first ministerial nominee to undergo senate screenings as he arrives as National Assembly

FORMER Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike is currently being screened by the Nigerian senate after he was the first ministerial nominee to arrive at the National Assembly today as the ministerial screening exercise commenced.

Controversial Governor Wike arrived at the National Assembly along with his wife and some followers and was shown into the chambers. Last week, President Bola Tinubu published, his 28-man list of ministerial nominees and his chief of staff, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, subsequently sent it to the senate for screening.

All 28 nominees will be made to answer questions from senators, after which a vote will be called on whether to conform their appointment or not. Nobody has been assigned any portfolio yet, so it is not yet clear, which office Governor Wike will be appointed to but it is widely believed that he will be named as the new Niger Delta Affairs minister.

Still a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Wike turned against PDP’s presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the last election and worked for President Tinubu. His nomination us seen as a form of compensation for supporting the APC during the elections.

Those who made the list to be screened and confirmed by the Senate include Abubakar Momoh, Yusuf Tukar, Ahmad Dangiwa, Hannatu Musawa, Uche Nnaji, Beta Edu, Doris Uzoka, Dave Umahi, Nyesome Wike, Muhammadu Badaru, Nasir El-Rufai, Ekprikpe Ekpo, Nkiru Onyechiocha and Bumi Tunji Ojo. Others were Stella Okotete, Uju Kennedy, Bello Muhammadu Gunyo, Dele Alake, Lateef Fagbemi, Muhammad Idris, Wale Edun, Waheed Adebayoe Adelabu, Emman Suleman Ibrahim, Ali Pate, Joseph Utse, Abubakar Kyari, John Enoh, Sani Abubakar Danladi.

Prominent among the names were former governors Dave Umahi, Nyesome Wike, Muhammadu Badaru, Nasir El-Rufai, of Ebonyi, Rivers, Jigawa and Kaduna States respectively. Also, the finance portfolios are expected to be handled by Ahmad Dangiwa, the managing director of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and Wale Edun, the former Lagos State finance commissioner.

Some members of the APC in Rivers State have expressed concerns about the fact that Governor Wike may join their party, however. They accuse the former governor of terrorising them for the last eight years and it is feared that him joining the APC officially, might split the party.