Trouble For Jonathan’s Ministerial Nominees!

 Senators move against 6 nominees as screening begins February 

Six of the 12 ministerial nominees forwarded by President Goodluck Jonathan to the Senate for screening and confirmation maybe rejected, it was gathered yesterday. Daily Sun checks revealed that the groundswell of opposition to the six ministerial nominees came from the camps of aggrieved state governors, who complained that they were not consulted and had no input in their nomination, and some senators from some of the affected states who had been mobilized to move against their confirmation in the chamber.

The convention in the Senate is that two of the three senators must agree on the nomination of any new minister before and during the confirmatory hearing in the Senate.

But there were instances in the past, where the convention was brushed aside and the ministerial nominees allowed to pass through the screening process in the Committee of the Whole.

This time around, some governors are putting pressure on their senators to oppose the confirmation of some of the nominees when the exercise starts in the first week of February.

For instance, two senators from Rivers State would oppose the nomination of Dr. T. W. Danagogo.Also, ministerial nominees from the North-East, South-West and North-Central maybe stopped in the chamber.

Not relenting, however, lawmakers started holding series of consultations immediately Senate President David Mark read out the names of the new ministerial nominees at Tuesday’s plenary.

The South-West was also not immune as senators from the zone had ganged up against one of the nominees, while another two also ganged up against a nominee from one other state.

It was gathered that the leadership of the Senate was already intimated on the need to revive the convention that indicated that at least two senators must back a nominee.