Ministerial nominee, Festus Keyamo has finally been screened by the Senate after apologizing for his past action.
His screening was deferred earlier after it degenerated into a rowdy session. This ensued after Senator Darlington Nwokocha of Abia state moved a motion demanding that the screening of Keyamo be suspended.
He recalled how Keyamo who was minister of state for labour and employment in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, ignored the summon of the parliament in 2020 over the employment scheme of 774,000 Nigerians recruited for the special public works programme.
Following the uproar that the motion generated, the Senate dissolved into a closed session to resolve the issue. Senate President Godswill Akpabio subsequently visited President Bola Tinubu at Aso Rock shortly after the rowdy session.
After the screening was resumed, Keyamo apologised to the senators and further disclosed that the “issue” was resolved because he subsequently appeared before the senate committees after the “incident”.
Ali Ndume, chief chip of the senate, moved a motion that Keyamo’s apology be accepted. The motion was unanimously adopted when it was put to a voice vote by Akpabio.
There were no questions posed to Keyamo by the senators after he apologised and was then asked to “take a leave”. The Senate has now concluded the screening of the 48 ministerial nominees put forward by President Bola Tinubu.
