Why Senate drop El-Rufai, Danladi, Okotete as ministers

Yesterday, the Senate decided not to approve the nomination of Stella Okotete from Delta State, Nasir El-Rufai, a former deputy governor of Taraba State, and Sani Abubakar Danladi as members of the proposed Federal Executive Council (FEC).

President Bola Tinubu’s other 45 ministerial nominees received confirmation.

At the conclusion of yesterday’s session, Godswill Akpabio, President of the Senate, announced that the three individuals, whose names were withheld, were awaiting security clearance.

In order to meet the Constitution’s 60-day deadline, Tinubu had to submit the names of 28 nominees to the Senate by July 27, 2023.

Later, he sent another set of 19 and then two more after Mariam Shetty, a candidate from Kano, was replaced.

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Nine former governors as well as current National Assembly members are among those who have been confirmed.

Additionally, it supported the nomination of Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, a serving member of the National Assembly from Ondo State who was the subject of allegations last week that he had falsified his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.

Ojo was defended by some senators who spoke to Senate Correspondents, who identified him as one of the young people the President had identified and nominated.

Tunji-Ojo, who presided over the House Committee on NDDC in the 9th Assembly, led an investigation that resulted in a number of changes to the Commission and forced the Buhari administration to form a new NDDC board.

Festus Keyamo, a former minister of state for labour and employment, is also among the confirmed nominees. Earlier, lawmakers had opposed Keyamo’s nomination due to what they perceived to be unparliamentary behaviour.

Sources did, however, confirm that el-Rufai might have been dropped as a result of numerous petitions against him, including those concerning security and alleging “toxic comments” he made in public that were contrary to “national interest.”

According to a source, there are also allegations against him that he is unreliable and only accepted the ministerial position to advance his bid for the presidency in 2027. He is also viewed as someone who will work against Tinubu’s bid for a second term. He is not a dependable politician in whom Tinubu can have faith.

However, some of President Tinubu’s “wise men” may have felt that his competence and ability to complete any task he was given overcame their political concerns.

Investigations into Okotete’s case revealed that she might have been entangled in a power struggle between Chief James Ibori, a former governor of Delta State, and some APC leaders in Lagos who backed her nomination.

It was learned that Ibori had insisted on former Delta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant David Edevbie as the state’s nominee for a ministerial position, in addition to the NYSC and higher education certificates that petitioners were using to fight against her nomination.

The outcome of the primary caused Ibori and Edevbie to leave the PDP and work for APC candidate and former senate deputy president Ovie Omo Agege, who lost the election. Edevbie lost the primary to incumbent governor Sheriff Oborevwori.

The source stated: “Although Okotete’s certificates have become a problem, Benson Idahosa University has confirmed that she attended the school; however, NEXIM bank, where she worked, has some outstanding issues that need to be resolved. Edevbie is probably going to take her place.

She is also a native of the Delta Central Senatorial District, just like Festus Keyamo, a ministerial nominee who was recently confirmed and the governor of the state.