Ministerial screening: Uproar over petition against El- Rufai

<p>The Senate on Tuesday continued with the screening of ministerial nominees. Nine of the nominees scaled the hurdle, increasing the total number of nominees screened so far to 23.</p>, <p>There was a mild drama before the Senate allowed former Kaduna State governor Mallam Nasir El- Rufai “to take a bow ” and exit the Red Chamber.</p>, <p>Senator representing Kogi West, Senator Sunday Karimi, stood up to announce that he was in the custody of a petition against the nomination of the former Kaduna State Governor, which he noted bothered far-reaching security and national unity.</p>, <p>He said:” Mr. President, I have a petition written against the nominee over the issue of insecurity in Southern Kaduna when he was governor.</p>, <p>“If I am permitted, I will like to read the petition.”</p>, <p>He later presented a copy of the petition to the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, who was presiding following the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio’s brief exit from the Chamber.</p>, <p>Senator representing Niger East, Sani Musa, however, kicked against discussion of the petition as he noted that three former governors have appeared before the lawmakers and were accorded the privilege to take their exit without rigorous interrogation.</p>, <p>Senator Danjuma Goje, representing Gombe Central, spoke in a similar vein.</p>, <p>Senator Akpabio, who later returned to his seat, said the Senate could only receive the petition and dispatch to the relevant authority. He subsequently asked Mallam Nasir El- Rufai not to respond to the petition but take his leave.</p>, <p>The Senate President said, ” This is not the place to consider petitions, we will sit with the petitions later and refer them to relevant authorities. Please, take a bow, my brother.”</p>, <p>Earlier, while responding to questions on solutions to prevailing challenges facing the power sector raised by former Zamfara State Governor and Senator representing Zamfara West, Abdulaziz Yari, the former Kaduna State Governor traced the problem in the sec