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By Olanrewaju Oyedeji
Nigerians are at the moment glued to their television sets and following live proceedings of the much anticipated ministerial screening of President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees for positions in the federal cabinet.
Given the long wait for the list which spanned a clear six months from the date of announcement of President Muhammadu Buhari as winner of the March 2015 presidential polls, many did not expect anything less.
However, the outcome of the proceedings has been varied. While some of the nominees have had it relatively easy, it has been a situation of grim and no-holds-barred quizzing for others.
Perhaps the easiest pick has been the spokesman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Lai Mohammed, who spent just a little over ten minutes on the senate floor, the bulk of which was occupied by raucous laughter and comic playfulness. He is followed by former senator Chris Ngige.
Not so for former Governors of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Lagos, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN who spent lots of time reacting to issues from their past tenures as chief executives in their respective states. Equally on the firing line were former MDGs adviser, Mrs. Amina Mohammed and General Lawan Dambazzau, retd.
According to Kolade Oyebola @koladeoyebola, a follower of @differencenews1 on the Twitter handle, ‘yesterday’s high point 4 me was Fayemi’s screening. I wld hv love for Lai Mohammed 2 hv been drilled #MinisterialScreening.’
Overall, about all of the nominees have generally impressed with pundits saying that it is very unlikely that any of them would be rejected. Analysts however also wager that even more heated fireworks is expected on Thursday when the equally controversial former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi would be having his much awaited day in court.
Overall, one relative casualty of the ministerial screening is its overshadowing of the very critical 21st edition of the Nigerian Economic Summit, #NES21, that is also taking place this week in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo led the presidential team to the event which is also being graced by governors and captains of industry.
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