The Senate on Wednesday conducted what was supposed to be a screening for six ministerial nominees of President Goodluck Jonathan, but it turned out a bow-and-go affair.
The six nominees screened are Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos), Hon. Mohammed Wakil (Borno), Ambassador Aminu Wali (Kano), Mrs. Akon Etim Eyakenyi (Akwa Ibom), Mrs. Lawrencia Labaran Mallam (Kaduna) and General Mohammed Aliu Gusau (Rtd) (Zamfara).
First to be called in was Obanikoro, who spoke about his terms as a senator and as Nigeria High Commissioner to Ghana, focusing on his achievements, particularly the motions he sponsored in the Senate.
He mentioned the one on ocean surge in Lagos, which precipitated a visit by a Senate committee to the site, as well as the anti-casualisation bill to prevent expatriates from enslaving Nigerians.
Senate President David Mark noted that that anyone who was good enough to become a senator or a member of the Federal House of Representatives has all it takes to succeed as a minister.
Next was erstwhile Leader of the House of Representatives, Aminu Wakil, who was accompanied by former Speaker of the House, Hon. Ghali Umar Na’Abba and his former colleagues. Like Obanikoro, he recollected his time in the lower chamber and was asked to bow and go without even answering a question.
Former National Security Adviser (NSA) to former President Olusegun Obasanjo was also not questioned, as Mark jokingly remarked that Gusau, being a retired General from NDA Course One while him being a retired General from NDA Course Three makes the scene one of two generals.
“Is it the wish of the Senate that Gusau should bow and go?” Mark asked, and the senators chorused: “Yes, he should bow and go!”
