In a dramatic and contentious session at the Senate, Senator Darlington Nwokocha from Abia Central Senatorial District moved to suspend the ministerial screening of Festus Keyamo, a ministerial nominee from Delta State. Nwokocha’s motion was seconded by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe from Abia-South Senatorial District.
After Senate President Godswill Akpabio subjected the motion to a voice vote, the lawmakers were divided, leading to a rowdy atmosphere. In response, Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele called for a closed-door session to address the matter.
Nwokocha accused Keyamo of disrespecting the 9th National Assembly and accusing the previous Assembly of corruption. During the Buhari administration, Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, served as Minister of State for Labour and Productivity. He was summoned to explain a Special Public Works program coordinated by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), which fell under his ministry.
The program aimed to recruit 1,000 youths from each of the 774 local governments for a three-month period and pay them N20,000 each. However, there were complaints from constituents who claimed they did not benefit from the program. The Senate Public Account Committee initiated a probe into the matter, but Nwokocha alleged that Keyamo ignored the committee’s invitation, suggesting that the Senate’s intentions were to take over the recruitment process.
Keyamo was the last ministerial nominee from President Bola Tinubu’s 48-man list to appear before the Senate, following a replacement of a ministerial nominee from Kano. Despite concerns about the Senate’s approach to ministerial screenings and their tendency to allow nominees to “take a bow and go” without proper questioning, the session remained controversial and generated criticism over the system’s effectiveness.
The situation remains tense, and the outcome of the closed-door session will be closely watched as the Senate navigates this contentious issue surrounding Festus Keyamo’s ministerial screening.
