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Ministerial List: El-Rufai, Wike, Alake, Others To Appear For Senate Screening Monday

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The ministerial nominees submitted by President Bola Tinubu on Thursday are expected to undergo screening at the Senate on Monday.

The Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu (Ekiti South), said the Upper Chamber had suspended all its activities to commence the screening immediately.

Adaramodu stated this, shortly after the names of 28 nominees sent to the federal lawmakers were read by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio on the floor of the Senate.

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Adaramodu said, “Screening will commence on Monday. We have suspended all the rules to accommodate the screening of the nominees.

“We were supposed to proceed on our vacation today (Thursday) but it has been suspended for this screening. We are starting the screening on Monday. We are not going to allocate time to nominees to talk.

“We will start by 11am on Monday and other days at 10am. We are ready to sit all day to screen them, with no limitation of hours. We won’t even time them. We would listen to them reel out their blueprint to us. The screening would be done in the presence of Nigerians.”

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READ ALSO: Why We Concede Ministerial Appointment To Wike — Rivers APC

Akpabio, at plenary, unveiled the list consisting of 28 nominees.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajamiabila, delivered the list to the Senate President.

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Foremost Nigerians, who made the list are former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike (Rivers), former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), and former Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi (Ebonyi).

Others are the acting Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abubakar Kyari (Borno); the party’s women leader Beta Edu (Cross River); Deputy Chief Whip of the Ninth House of Representatives, Nkiruka Onyejiocha ( Abia); a lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, (Kwara); and the President’s Special Adviser on Media, Strategy and Special Duties, Dele Alake, (Ekiti).

Also, contained in the list is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Adebayo Adelabu (Oyo); former Minister of State, Health, Ali Pate, (Bauchi); and Senator John Eno, (Cross River).

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Others include Abubakar Momoh (Edo); Ambassador Yusuf Maitama, (Bauchi), Ahmad Dangiwa (Katsina), Hanatu Musawa, (Katsina), Chief Uche Nnaji, (Enugu), Doris Aniche (Imo), Mohamed Badaru (Jigawa), Ekperikpe Ekpo (Akwa Ibom), Olubumi Tunde-Ojo, (Ondo), Stella Okotete, (Delta), Uju Ohanaeye (Anambra) and Bello Goronyo, (Sokoto).

READ ALSO: Ministerial List: Don’t Appoint Ex-northern Govs, APC Stakeholders Urge Tinubu

Mohammed Idris (Niger), Olawale Edun (Ogun), Imman Suleiman (Nassarawa), Joseph Utsev, (Benue) and Sani Danladi ( Taraba) also made the 28-man list.

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The Senate, however, referred the list to the Committee of the Whole, having read out the names.

Although the constitution prescribes that the President shall appoint at least a minister from each of the 36 states of the federation, the list sent by the Tinubu contained names of nominees from 25 states, leaving out 11 states.

Meanwhile, the states not yet captured are Lagos, Kano, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Gombe, Kebbi, Kogi, Osun, Plateau, Yobe and Zamfara.

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This comes as Bauchi, Cross River and Katsina states got two slots each.

Meanwhile, Gbajabiamila said Nigerians should expect the naming of new ministries as President unveils another list of 13 ministerial nominees “in the coming days.”

“Mr President intends to separate portfolios or restructure the ministries in such a way that you might be hearing of new ministries that were not standalone ministries before,” the Chief of Staff to the President told State House Correspondents hours after he submitted the ministerial list to the Senate.

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On how the names emerged, Gbajabiamila said, “Mr President took his time to sift through those names.”

Gbajabiamila said President Tinubu dissected those names with a fine-tooth comb.

“That’s what you have seen. Everyone, I believe, of the persons on that list is worth being on that list.

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READ ALSO: Women In Ministerial List: Meet Ohanaye, APC Aspirant Who Stepped Down For Tinubu; Edu, Musawa, Others

“But I hope we haven’t missed anything that would have necessitated any name not being on that list.”

The former Speaker said the names were sent to the Senate without specific portfolios attached to give the President enough flexibility to decide who handles what portfolio.

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Gbajabiamila said, “I like the idea of attaching portfolios because it makes it necessary for the Senate to know exactly what you’re asking and looking for.

“As good as that sounds, it straitjackets the President to pigeonhole one person in an office or the other. What happens if he changes his mind? Do you then bring the person back for screening again? This is because the President is at liberty to change his mind.

“But for now, it’s been thought wise that we stick to the tradition of sending the names and then while the screening processes are going on, it allows Mr President and his team to look at the portfolios and the characters and see how they fit.”

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According to Gbajabiamila, President Tinubu is sure that all the nominees can “fit in anywhere” except for specialised offices such as the Attorney-General.

He noted that, on the remaining nominees, the “12 or maybe 13 will be forwarded to the Senate in the coming days.”

The Chief of staff hinted that the cabinet should be fully formed and functioning within the next two weeks.

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He said, “Work should start in earnest for them in the next week or two because I don’t see the Senate wasting too much time in the confirmation, not because they’re not going to do a thorough job, they will do a thorough job.

“But they will balance it with the knowledge that in this time that we are in, time is of the essence,” he added.
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APC Explains Suspension Of Senator Gbenga Daniel

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APC Ward 4 in Sagamu says it suspended Senator Gbenga Daniel because he refused to appear and defend himself over allegations of anti-party activities.

Speaking to journalists at the ward office in Sabo, Sagamu, the Ward Secretary, Hon. Oluwole Aduroja, said he spoke for the 19-member executive committee.

He explained that their clarification was necessary after a statement issued by MJS Partners on behalf of Senator Daniel, reacting to a November 17 letter from the APC National Secretariat.

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Aduroja, who stood with the Ward Chairman, Hon. Adebayo Ismail, said the Ward Executive Committee agreed to suspend Senator Daniel because he failed to appear before a panel set up to review petitions against him.

READ ALSO:Why Kwankwaso-Atiku Alliance Can’t Work — APC Chief

The petitions accused him of working against the party.

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He said the problem started during the last general elections, when Senator Daniel “acted in open defiance of the party and engaged in actions inimical to the interest of the APC and its candidates in Ogun State.”

Aduroja added that after the elections, the senator, “attempted to obstruct and frustrate the course of justice during the Election Petition Tribunal sittings through actions and interventions that were directly hostile to the interest of the APC and its candidates.”

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He said these actions remain unchallenged.

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Reacting to the position of the APC National Secretary, Senator Surajudeen Bashiru, in the November 17 letter, Aduroja insisted that the APC Constitution allows Executive Committees at all levelsward, local government, state, zonal or national to discipline any member.

READ ALSO:APC Chieftain Killed In Suspected Zamfara Bandit Attack

He said Article 21(5)(vii) gives the National Working Committee the power to suspend members, but does not override the powers of Executive Committees at other levels, and does not require them to seek approval from the NWC.

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He explained that “any disciplinary action taken by an Executive Council, including suspension, is subject only to appeal as outlined in Article 21(4).”

He added that nothing in the constitution makes their decision dependent on NWC review.

Aduroja said Ward 4 is committed to discipline, fairness and due process, and stressed that the suspension of Senator Gbenga Daniel remains in full effect.”

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Irresponsible Of You To Blame Trump Over Rising Insecurity – ADC Blasts Tinubu’s Govt

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The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has criticised the Federal Government of Nigeria for blaming the wave of attacks, especially in Kebbi and Kwara States on remarks by US President Donald Trump.

Recall that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume on Wednesday, said recent statements by Trump concerning the security situation in Nigeria have emboldened violent groups across the country.

Responding to the SGF, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, in a statement said Akume’s comment was an attempt to deflect responsibility.

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READ ALSO:Alleged Christian Genocide: APC Requests To Testify At US Congress

According to him, it is appalling that the APC-led government suggested that insecurity in Nigeria was triggered by a statement made by a foreign president.

The ADC mouthpiece further stated that the claim amounted to a shameful abdication of responsibility and a confirmation that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is overwhelmed by the security crisis.

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He added that Nigerians had endured massacres, mass abductions and attacks on schools and places of worship for years under the APC-led government.

READ ALSO:Trump To Receive Full Menu Of Options To Stop Nigeria Genocide – US Rep, Moore

Abdullahi said the situation has worsened under the current administration because of the government’s failure to respond decisively.

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Deborah Samuel’s murderers remain free’ – US defends designation of Nigeria as CPC
“It is therefore disingenuous to blame one tweet for the state of insecurity in Nigeria,”

“Those killing Nigerians did not need to be instigated by Trump; they were already actively encouraged by a government that consistently fails to act decisively to stop the carnage, a government that is, even after nearly three years in office, still celebrating its electoral victory while the country is turned into a killing field,” he said.

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Top NNPP Mobiliser In Kano Resigns, Cites Neglect, Lack Of Recognition

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A key member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Bichi Local Government Area, Hon. Jamilu Kabir Bichi, has resigned from the party, saying he has been consistently sidelined despite his contributions.

Kabir, who was the NNPP Director-General of the 2023 Campaign in Bichi, announced his resignation in a letter dated November 19, 2025, and addressed to the party’s ward chairman.

He described his decision as “painful yet necessary,” explaining that he and his supporters had faced neglect in the party, especially in his home community.

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READ ALSO:JUST IN: NNPC, NUPRC, NMDPRA Shut As PENGASSAN Begins Strike

He said the leadership had failed to acknowledge the sacrifice and effort of loyal members.

Fear grips Nigerians as terrorists go on rampage, target large gatherings
“The leadership’s refusal at all levels to recognize our progressive agenda, loyalty, patience, and endurance has been deeply disheartening,” he wrote.

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Kabir also said many committed members who worked hard to build the NNPP were denied chances to serve in the party or in government after the party won elections.

According to him, this made it impossible to remain in the party.

READ ALSO:Mass Exodus Hits APC, LP, NNPP As Over 5,000 Members Join PDP In Benue

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As a principled individual with a political vision and mission… I can no longer, in good conscience, remain in a party that compromises my values,” he stated.

He thanked his political mentor, former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Hon. Ahmad Garba Bichi, praising his patience, loyalty, and straightforwardness.

Kabir added that he would continue to practice “politics without bitterness.”

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He ended his letter with a prayer, asking Allah to guide the people of Bichi, Kano, and Nigeria, and pledged to stay committed to serving humanity.

 

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