Senate Confirms Gusau, Nine Others As Ministers.

 The Senate on Tuesday approved the nomination of 11 out of the 12 ministerial nominees forwarded to it by President Goodluck Jonathan two weeks ago.

Those whose nominations were confirmed by the Senate as ministers are a former Nigeria’s ambassador to Ghana, Musilu Obanikoro, (Lagos State); an ex-National Security Adviser to both former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan, Gen. Aliyu Gusau (Zamfara State); a former governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna (Adamawa); Ambassador Aminu Wali (Kano); Mohammed Wakil (Borno State), Dr Khaliru Alhassan (Sokoto State), and Alhaji Abdujelili Adesiyan (Osun State).

Others are Mrs Akon Etim Eyakenyi ( Akwa Ibom State), Asabe Asmau Ahmed (Niger State), Mrs. Lawrencia Labaran Mallam (Kaduna State); and Dr. Tamuno Danagogo (Rivers State).

The Senate however deferred the screening of the 12th nominee, Hajia Jamila Salik, from Kano State, because she did not appear before the Senate on Tuesday.

Three members of the upper chamber from Osun State, Senators Olusola Adeyeye, Babajide Omoworare, and Mudashiru Hussein, had made futile efforts to stop the confirmation of Adesiyan, the ministerial nominee from their state.

Adeyeye, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, had raised a point of order to stop the final confirmation of the nomination of Adesiyan on the grounds that he was allegedly linked to the assassination of the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the late Chief Bola Ige, in December 2001.

The Senator said the nominee did not convince the three senators that he was innocent of the death of Ige.