Tinubu to forward ministerial list to Senate in 48 hours – Senate Leader

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has said President Bola Tinubu will submit the list of the ministerial nominees to the Senate before Thursday.

Mr Bamidele made the disclosure on Tuesday at an event organised in Abuja to celebrate his 60th birthday and the presentation of his book titled “Leadership through Communication.”

Mr Tinubu has until 28 July to send his ministerial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation, in line with the constitution.

According to Section 42 of the constitution, the president and state governors have, from the date they are sworn in, a 60-day window within which to appoint ministers and commissioners.

The delay in announcing the cabinet ministers has led to the emergence of several lists of ministers, which the government itself disowned.

FIRS

In the last few weeks, several lists of nominees have surfaced in the media. In some lists, names of the president’s political allies and former governors featured prominently.

The president’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, had also debunked speculations that the list has been leaked.

List to arrive at Senate in 48 hours

Mr Bamidele said Mr Tinubu called him over the phone Tuesday morning to felicitate him on his birthday and told him that he would not be able to attend the birthday ceremony because of the communication he needed to submit to the Senate in the next 48 hours.

“President Tinubu told me this morning when he called to greet me for my birthday lecture this morning around 10:03 a.m. that he will not be able to come to the birthday lecture because of the communication he needed to submit to the Senate in the next 48 hours.

“So, Mr President prayed for me. We should tell the rest of Nigerians to pray for him to be able to make the right decision within the next 24 hours so that when Nigerians hear the list of his ministers, they will say yes, this is uncommon,” Mr Bamidele said.

In his remarks, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, commended the Senate Leader for his loyalty to the president.

Mr Akpabio felicitated the leader of the Senate and prayed for long life.