Buhari’s Ministerial List Can’t Tackle Nigeria’s Challenges -PDP …As Senate Screens 43 Ministerial Nominees, Today

The Peoples Democratic Party, yesterday, described the list of ministerial nominees released by President Muhammadu Buhari as colourless and inspiring no hope in Nigerians.
In a statement issued via its verified Twitter handle, the party said, the list showed the regard in which the President and his All Progressives Congress hold Nigerians.
It said, “President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial list presented to the Senate today is colourless, stagnant, uninspiring and do not convey any sense of hope or purposeful governance under the APC.
“The party says that to the chagrin and utter disappointment of Nigerians, the list is replete with incompetent individuals who failed in their erstwhile ministerial assignments and left their ministries in a shambles.
“Indeed, such a ministerial list can only come from a leadership that does not have mandate of the people. It is a complete waste of time and cannot fulfil the expectation of Nigerians.
“The list has further shown President Buhari and APC‘s insensitivity and disdain for Nigerians and it does not in any way reflect their hope and eagerness for a better Nigeria.
“Furthermore, in recycling failed yesterday’s men for today’s assignment, President Buhari and the APC have left no one in doubt that they have no vision to move our nation out of the economic and security predicaments into which they have plunged us in the last four years.
“A committed and responsive leadership would have widely consulted with Nigerians before compiling a ministerial list, given the current situation in the country.
“If, indeed, President Buhari and the APC mean well for Nigerians and are interested in revamping our critical sectors, they would not have ended up with a list of those who will help conceal the huge corruption in the Buhari administration in the last four years, as well as those who will assist in channeling funds to individuals and groups used by the APC to rig the 2019 presidential election.
“Strangely, the list has no space for the youths demography, those to whom the future is said to belong.
“The PDP holds that with this development, it is clear that the only way our nation can come out of our present economic and security quandary lies in the retrieval of Atiku’s stolen Presidential mandate at the tribunal,” the statement ended.
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday announced names of 12 former ministers who worked with him in his first term for reappointment.
They are Babatunde Fashola (Lagos State), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers State) Hadi Sirika (Katsina State), Zainab Ahmed (Kaduna State), Lai Mohammed (Kwara State) Chris Ngige (Anambra State), Adamu Adamu (Bauchi State), Abubakar Malami (Jigawa State), Godfrey Onyeama (Enugu State), Ogbonnaya Onu (Ebonyi State) , Osagie Enahire (Edo State), Suleiman Adamu (Jigawa State), and Mohameed Bello (Adamawa State).
Some of the former ministers not reappointed are Okechukwu Enelamah (Abia State), Udoma Udo Udoma (Akwa Ibom State), Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa State), Audu Ogbeh (Benue State) and Usani Uguru (Cross River State).
Others are Ibe Kachikwu (Delta State), Anthony Anwuka (Imo State ), Stephen Ochani (Kogi State), Abdulrahaman Dambazau (Kano State), Abubakar Bawa Bwari (Niger State), Cladius Omoleye Daramola (Ondo State) Isaac Adewole (Osun State ), Adebayo Shittu (Oyo State ), Solomon Dalong (Plateau State), Aisha Abubakar (Sokoto State ) and Mansur Dan Ali (Zamfara State).
Meanwhile, Senate President Ahmad Lawan has said that the screening and confirmation of the nominees would begin, today.
He added that other legislative activities in the chamber would take back seat to ensure the speedy completion of the important assignment.
Lawan said this after reeling out the list of the ministerial nominees on the floor of the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly, yesterday.
“The screening of the ministerial nominees will commence tomorrow morning,” he said.
“All other legislative activities will take back stage for this very important national assignment.”
President Muhammadu Buhari sent 43 ministerial nominees for confirmation.
Seven former governors and senators each are among the 43 ministerial nominees whose names were sent to the Senate for screening and confirmation, yesterday.
The seven former governors include Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Niyi Adebayo (Ekiti), George Akume (Benue), Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Timipre Slyva (Bayelsa) and Babatunde Fasola (Lagos).
However, the ex-governors are not likely to enjoy same privileges with the former lawmakers during the screening exercise.
In the tradition of the Senate, the seven former lawmakers would be asked to take a bow and avoid all the questions and answers that normally characterise the exercise as a mark of respect.
Also, the Senate has announced the postponement of its annual recess by one week.
This, it said, was to enable members screen the ministerial nominees forwarded to it by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Chairman, Senate ad hoc committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, stated this while addressing reporters yesterday.
Our correspondent reported earlier that Buhari on Tuesday submitted the names of 43 nominees to the Red Chamber for confirmation hearing.
The Senate’s annual recess was initially billed to start tomorrow.
Adeyeye disclosed that the “Senate would start the screening on Wednesday”.
According to the lawmaker, since the exercise would be thorough, “the Senate would suspend its rules to sit beyond 2pm and conduct plenary on Mondays and Fridays until all the nominees have been successfully grilled”.

Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi, Abuja