Buhari's Ministerial List Splits the Senate

The ministerial list of President Buhari has intensified the cold war in the 8th National Assembly as senators have expressed mixed reactions which could adversely affect the screening procedure scheduled for Tuesday.

The official announcement of the ministerial nominees by Senate President Bukola Saraki, yesterday, 6th of October has successfully created a division between the senators of the All Progressives Congress and the opposition, People's Democratic Party, according to the Guardian.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Solomon Ita Enang, who was in the office of the Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio yesterday, disclosed that no matter what political differences there may be, the immediate concern is to ensure that there is minimal opposition to the President’s request.
Confirming his motive for meeting with Akpabio, Ita Enang said: “Part of our job is to reach out to all the sections. The past is gone, this is a new beginning,” he noted.
The PDP produced 49 of the 108 senators in the Senate at the moment.
Although, confirmation of a ministerial nominee requires only a simple majority, the Presidency is not taking any chances by assuming that all 59 senators of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC‎) would vote in support of all the nominees. This is mainly because there were issues of lack of consultation with relevant party stakeholders in the states before the list was compiled and submitted.

Meanwhile, several PDP senators have voiced out their displeasure about the ministerial list which took President Muhammadu Buhari four months to compile.

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