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Tag: Fayemi

  • Our plan to increase mining’s N400b revenue, by Fayemi

    Our plan to increase mining’s N400b revenue, by Fayemi

    •Minister pledges one million jobs, revival of Ajaokuta Steel Complex

    Minister of Solid Minerals Kayode Fayemi yesterday said the mining sector’s N400 billion contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will soon go up.

    Nigeria has 44 mineral assets, including precious minerals, which, Fayemi said, could make the sector a key source of economic growth and diversified revenue base for Nigeria.

    He gave all mining licensees till March 1 deadline to use their licences or lose them.

    He said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to the revival of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex (ASC).

    Fayemi, who reeled out his plans at the ministry’s inaugural media conference in Abuja, said he was projecting about one million direct jobs from solid minerals.

    He said: “Today, we have at least 44 known mineral assets that include precious minerals, base metals, bulk minerals and what are known as rare earth minerals.

    “We have reasons to believe that available data of our reserves understates what the almighty God has blessed our country with many cases. We have barely updated some of the geosciences data collected 50 years ago or earlier. So, we are cautiously optimistic that our mining endowments actually exceed what is currently stated.

    “That said, based on current data, Nigeria’s solid minerals sector makes up about 0.34 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). That means based on current official exchange rates, the mining sector contributes N400 billion in value to the economy.

    “While that is a significant role, it is smaller than its true potential as the vast majority of our mining assets are yet to be exploited. In fact, what has been happening is that the sector has more or less been operating sharply below capacity, with many mining operations manned by small-scale artisanal miners, as opposed to the large-scale players.”

    He pledged to sanitise the solid minerals sector.

    “We will work with stakeholders to review existing licences and bring them up to date where there are issues. Our goal is to get licensees, who are sitting on  the fence to have sufficient confidence to start investing real capital.

    “That said, starting March 1, 2016, we will start enforcing the “use it or lose it” doctrine enshrined in the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007. The period from today to March 1, 2016, should be considered an amnesty period to allow regularisation of papers,” he said.

    Responding to a question, Fayemi said all things being equal, the solid minerals sector could create about one million jobs.

    He explained: “I can tell you that the solid minerals sector is one that can provide at least a million direct jobs and much more than that in indirect jobs with people working in the mines and associated sectors like construction. We know that we can do it, but we need to formalise the jobs and we need to ensure that we bring them into the economy so that it can serve our nation better.

    “We have commenced discussions with the World Bank once again and the bank is desirous of supporting the sector. We need to be ready, we ought to show commitment ourselves as a government and that way, it will be easier for us to receive support from a whole range of players.

    “If we deliver on this vision, then we can build a mining sector that Nigerians can be proud of in 30 years or more from now. This sector should deliver double digit growth over the next decade, with important direct and indirect economic impacts on households.

    “We will focus on supporting and growing Nigeria’s position in mineral assets with commercially proven reserves. Our assets will then be used to serve two key markets: a domestic industrialisation market that is more beneficiation focused and an export market that is more focused initially on the export of ores and raw materials.

    “The mix of investors that will target Nigeria will reflect that preference of serving both the domestic and export markets. We anticipate that as we expand our geosciences databases and insights, we will also expand what minerals we compete in.”

    Fayemi said the Ajaokuta Steel Complex was not privatised, but was put under concession in 2005 for a decade.

    Fayemi added that it was revoked in 2008 and that led to the lingering legal issue facing the steel complex.

    “But I can assure you that this is a matter that Mr. President insists on and I am reasonably confident that before the end of the first quarter of 2016, we would have a direction as to whether we are taking it over and running it ourselves or resolving the legal issues involved and allowing this to determine who gets to run Ajaokuta.

    “I was in Ajaokuta last week and we were so distraught by the time we left, that how could a nation do this to itself? Ajaokuta in itself is a city; it has an airport, seaport and 60 kilometres of internal rail. It has a rail from Ajaokuta almost to Warri and another linking it to Itakpe 60 kilometres. How do you invest this amount of resources and then you walk away from it?

    “It is unacceptable to any sane human being and that is why for us, we just have to fix Ajaokuta. Unfortunately, the figures being quoted for fixing it is not a figure that the Nigerian state can come by easily.

    “We have to figure out a creative and innovative way of ensuring that we partner with people who can make it happen so that we begin to deliver liquid steel and its products to our country,” he said.

    “Fixing Ajaokuta is not just the plant alone, it is also a matter of the infrastructure, that will make Ajaokuta perform better, you cannot bring in cooking coal, which is what is needed in the manufacture of steel, except you do so in deep seaport and even when you produce the steel, the central rail line that we have now only stops in Abuja, you need the central rail line to also move from Abuja to Lokoja and then develop spur lines that will join existing standard gauge rail that exist.

    “So, even if I were to give you a figure for putting Ajaokuta in shape to run, that does not mean it will start to run.

    “For example, Ajaokuta has 110 megawatt power plant in it that could supply the whole of Kogi, possibly Ekiti and still have enough for its operation internally; but it is dead mostly. So, we need to do a total costing on it to determine what exactly it needs.”

  • Mining roadmap out in March, says Fayemi

    Mining roadmap out in March, says Fayemi

    •To partner banks, others to boost investment

    Minister of Solid Minerals Dr Kayode Fayemi has said the ministry will soon come up with a roadmap to guide local and foreign investors in the mining sector.

    He said the document would outline the nation’s mineral deposits and the categories of mining licences as well as the conditions attached to them.

    Fayemi spoke in Abuja at a meeting with the Canadian High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr. Perry Calderwood, yesterday.

    The minister, who hinted that the country would partner Canada and other countries with successful mining industries, said reports showed that Nigeria would earn more if it blocked leakages in the sector, ensure adherence to regulation and thorough supervision.

    “By March, when the roadmap will be ready, more investors will be interested,” Fayemi said, lamenting that 80 per cent of the artisanal mining in the country were unrecorded.

    He noted that the success recorded in the agric and mining sector would boost this  administration’s plan to diversify the economy.

    Stressing that the Minerals and Mining Act of 2007 contained best practices in terms of incentives to investors, Fayemi said government would partner the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, National Assembly, banks and universities.

    Fayemi said: “We are working out a partnership with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to market the sector; our research institutes and universities to achieve better data and supply of expertise; National Assembly for legislation. We also need the financial sector to understand the sector; we need banks to set up solid minerals desks.”

    Calderwood praised the               Muhammadu Buhari administration for its commitment to diversify the economy through mining and agriculture.

    He urged the government to make the sector attractive to investors by tackling security and regulatory issues, which could discourage investors.

     

  • Mining: no longer business as usual, says Fayemi

    Solid Mineral Development Kayode Fayemi has vowed to step on toes in the process of repositioning the sector. The government, he said, would demand compliance with regulatory framework by local and foreign investors and excellent work ethics.

    He said the sector would be better funded in order to achieve President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision of using it to diversify the economy and create jobs.

    Fayemi spoke in Kaduna during his working visits to the National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency (NSRMEA) and the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA).

    Fayemi said: “The President’s mandate is clear- to make  solid minerals an alternative source of revenue and for employment generation. We must achieve these set goals. We will support you- the workers and all the agencies under the ministry, but we shall hold you accountable for every penny.

    “The President has sent us (the minister and the minister of state) to deliver on his mandate; we will do it without minding whose ox is gored.”

    Fayemi said the ministry would support artisans and those categorised as “illegal miners” and regulate their activities.

    He challenged  institutions and agencies under the ministry to be alive to their responsibilities of providing technical support to the sector.

    Fayemi said there was need for a review of  activities of the ministry through self-audit to determine whether they are still in tune with present reality.

    “The critical questions you must ask yourselves now is how do you fit into the agenda. Should it be business as usual or should we explore other creative ways of doing it”, the minister added.

    Fayemi, accompanied by the Mnister of State, Abubakar Bwari, and the Permanent Secretary, Mr Istifanus Fuktur, had earlier visited the National Metallurgical Development Centre and the Nigeria Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Jos to assess their facilities.

  • FG to understudy Australian mining sector, says Fayemi

    FG to understudy Australian mining sector, says Fayemi

    The federal government has almost concluded plans to understudy the Australian mining sector in order to improve on the country’s solid mineral sector.

    The government will also be learning how the Australian government has been able to achieve synergy between communities, states and the government in resolving the recurrent conflicts between communities and miners and settling the royalties due to states.

    Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said that the country needs to learn how Australia has been able to drive its country’s mining sector, which the present administration wants to improve the nation’s economy.

    Speaking in Abuja during a courtesy call by the Australian Ambassador to Nigeria, Jonathan Richardson, the minister said that the increasing interest of the government is geared towards understanding the Australian mining sector.

    He added, “We need to learn how you have been able to particularly drive the Australian mining industry. The president is really very focused in this sector; not that we have choices anyway with the prices for petrol dollar dwindling, so we have to look at alternatives for raising revenue for the country and clearly for the president, agriculture and solid minerals appears to be the most realistic or fastest way to begin to raise additional revenue for the economy.

    “The increasing interest of our government has made me get in touch and connect with what you are doing in your mining sector. Everything I have heard in the last 10 days of being in this position points in the direction of Australia. Everybody is saying it to me factually, technically, commercially, I keep hearing, you get Australia, you fix the mining sector.

    “Another area that we really can learn from Australia is you are a federal entity like us, we do have significant tension between what the constitution says about mineral resources belonging exclusively to the federal authority and the management of land belonging to the state government, so we need to find a sharing formula mechanism, what royalties comes to those who own the land, the community, state government and then the federal in other to achieve synergy and corporation because increasingly, I am hearing stories of those trying to explore minerals from local communities and facing a number of challenges there. We will be interested to know what Australia has done about it.”

  • Fayemi to Nigerians: don’t expect miracle from govt

    Fayemi to Nigerians: don’t expect miracle from govt

    For those expecting immediate dividends to validate confidence in newly elected government, former Ekiti State Governor Dr. Kayode Fayemi yesterday warned them to desist.

    Government, the minister-designate said, needs time to deliver such dividends to their people.

    Fayemi, who spoke as guest speaker at the 2015 Akintola Williams Distinguished Lecture Series in Lagos, said long-term visioning and succession planning were essential to avoid failed leadership.

    He presented a paper titled: “Leadership factors and good corporate governance: Key to national growth and development”.

    He warned politicians who often make “wild promises” before they are voted into office.

    Participants at the lecture included the renowned chartered accountant in whose name the lecture was held, Mr. Akintola Williams, former Head of Interim National Government Chief Ernest Shonekan, Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun and one- time Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Wale Edun.

    Fayemi said people want immediate results from their elected officials, but governments must realise that succession planning takes time.

    “The electorate tend to want immediate and tangible dividends to validate their confidence in their elected governments. Politicians, especially in our clime, are prone to crude populism, often making wild promises to perform immediate miracles once they are voted into office. The result is often mutual disappointment,” the former governor said.

    He added: “Successful development planning, like succession planning, is a long-term endeavour. The economic miracle of Southeast Asian nations was built on the back of long-term planning.

    “China’s emergence, which is perhaps the most talked about and analysed development story of recent time, was nurtured over the course of 30 years. These are the countries we want to emulate.”

    Fayemi suggested that Nigeria’s long-term plans must be protected from negative political influences, such as those exhibited by certain African leaders, who continually perpetrate themselves in power.

    He said: “We simply cannot afford to legitimise the reasons given by some of our African leaders for perpetuating themselves in power indefinitely.

    “In this regard, it has to be said that Africa’s legacy of developmental under-achievement has something to do with lack of careful succession planning. What we see in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi today in terms of the pursuit of perpetuation of power clearly attests to this.”

    He praised the Buhari administration for its commitment to transparency and accountability in government.

    Fayemi noted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), for the first time in many years, published details of its earnings, adding that openness now characterised incomes generated from the oil and gas industry.

    “These are some of the transformational acts that signify a new dawn in the relational dynamic between leaders and those that are led,” Fayemi said.

    He urged the public sector to place merit above issues such as ethnicity, state of origin or religion in recruitment, as “only a public service populated and led by our best and brightest can justly and efficiently provide the public goods such as education, healthcare and housing that will achieve the developmental aspirations of our people”.

    Fayemi urged Nigeria to tread cautiously in the area of privatisation, as authentic economic growth is impossible without a competent public sector.

    He said: “Not everything can be privatised nor should every area of society be surrendered to the whims and caprices of market forces.”

    The lecture was organised in honour of the 96-year-old Williams, a renowned doyen of the accounting profession in Nigeria, to promote integrity, professionalism and sound corporate governance in the country.

  • Why we want to serve, by Fayemi, Mohammed, Onu

    Why we want to serve, by Fayemi, Mohammed, Onu

    Udoma, Danbazzau, Amina Mohammed, Ehanire, Jibrin, Ogbeh,  Adamu also screened

    Saraki unveils 16 would-be ministers

    For over five hours yesterday, 10 would-be ministers took turns before the Senate, answering questions on their plans for the country, if confirmed.

    They were the first set of ministerial nominees to be screened.

    They are on the first list of 21 nominees sent to Senate President Bukola Saraki on September 30 by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The remaining 11 on the list are expected to appear before the Senate today.

    Those screened yesterday are Senator Udoma Udo-Udoma (Akwa Ibom State), former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, Chief Audu Ogbeh (Benue), Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu (Ebonyi), Dr. Osagie Ehanire (Edo), Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazzau (Kano), Alhaji Lai Mohammed (Kwara), Mrs. Amina Ibrahim Mohammed (Gombe), Suleiman Adamu and Ibrahim Jibrin.

    Before the exercise began, Dr. Saraki read out the names on the second list of nominees sent to him by the President on Monday.

    On the list are Khadija Buka Abba Ibrahim, (Yobe), Claudius Omoleye Daramola (Ondo), Prof. Anthony Anwuka (Imo); Geoffrey Onyeama ; Brig. Gen. M.M. Dan-Ali (rtd) (Zamfara); Barrister James E. Ocholi (Kogi) and Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, Okechukwu Enelamah (Abia); Muhammad Bello (Adamawa); Mustapha Baba Shehuri; Ms. Aisha Abubakar, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa); Adamu Adamu (Bauchi); Prof. Isaac Adewole (Osun); Pastor Usani Usani Uguru and Abubakar Bwari Bawa (Niger).

    After adopting last Thursday’s votes and proceedings, the Senate went into a closed door session to spell out the rules for the screening.

    Led into the chamber by Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang. Senator Udoma took his turn first.

    Saraki asked him to introduce himself and prepare to answer (Senate) questions.

    Udoma said he had not been involved in partisan politics since he left the Senate in 2007.

    He pledged to contribute his quota to the growth of the country if confirmed.

    The nominee was asked to “take a bow and go” after he spoke about the need for the country to pay more attention to the economy.

    Fayemi said he was delighted to appear before the Senate for screening.

    The former governor said he considers himself a teacher and a researcher.

    Senator Olusola Adeyeye asked him about the debt he was alleged to have left in Ekiti and the huge sum he was also alleged to have spent on furnishing the Government House.

    Fayemi said he believed that government is a continuum, adding that no government could run without obligations.

    He said he inherited a debt in excess of N30 billion, including money owed contractors, when he became governor.

    According to him, he worked to liquidate the debt to give the state the leverage for development.

    Fayemi said while he was in office as governor, Ekiti received about N3 billion as federation allocation, but had a N2.4 billion monthly wage bill.

    The former governor said he approached the capital market to raise a N25 billion bond for the state’s development.

    The debt he left behind, he said, was not in the range of what is being bandied about by some people.

    He challenged those alleging that he bought a N50 million bed to furnish the Government House to produce the proof.

    The nominee said: “I challenge anyone to bring an invoice of a bed in the State House that is worth N50million. I did not spend irresponsibly on it. The State House we met was probably one of the cheapest state houses in Nigeria.

    “I used my relationship to raise a lot of funds with institutions like the World Bank, Department for International Development (DFID). There is no country that does not borrow. I did not borrow to pay salaries.”

    Ekiti, he said has one of the best health care services in the country, adding that he initiated the payment of N5,000 to the elderly monthly as social welfare. This initiative, he said, has been embraced by the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the national level.

    The former governor said he did not borrow to pay salaries insisting that he built a new Government House because the state never had a befitting Government House.

    He described the Government House as a multi-purpose edifice.

    Fayemi said there was nothing he put in the Government House that he walked away with.

    He went on: “There is no N50 million bed in Ekiti Government House. It was not even up to N25 million”.

    The former governor put the cost of the Government House at N2.5 billion, saying the edifice “remains a Legacy House.”

    Fayemi, who said he was never an apostle of third term, noted that alteration of power is the best way to deepen democracy and not to perpetuate oneself in office.

    Ogbe said he was not appearing before the Senate for confirmation because he is looking for something new, because President Buhari deemed it fit to nominate him to serve as a minister.

    His explanation, he said, was informed by what he had read about his nomination.

    On why movement from one party to another is rampant in the country, Ogbe said defection happens everywhere, especially in emerging democracies.

    He said internal democracy should be taken seriously in the country, adding that the tendency to hand over the party machinery to the President and governors is harmful.

    Ogbe was asked to take a bow and go.

    Onu talked about the need to diversify power generation for steady supply.

    He stressed the need to use coal for power generation, saying is better than gas for power generation.

    Dr. Ehanire spoke about poor medical services in the country.

    The nominee said he is involved in the T.Y. Danjuma Foundation which aims to train and retrain traditional birth attendants.

    Lt. Gen. Dambazau spoke about the need to review the country’s defence policy from time to time to provide the guideline for defence issues.

    Dambazau said the armed forces depend on the defence policy to form battle guidelines.

    On defence budget, he said when he was the Chief of Army Staff, the maximum he could spend was N15 million, adding that this was later increased to N20 million.

    Dambazau said anything above N20 million was referred to the Minister of Defence for approval.

    He said that was the practice until he left Service.

    Alhaji Lai Mohammed caused a stir when he entered the Chambers. He was hailed and cheered by APC senators, while their Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterparts hooted.

    The APC spokesperson bowed six times before Dr. Saraki amid a thunderous applause as as senators.

    When the chambers became silent Dr. Saraki intoned: “The nominee before you Distinguished Senators is from Kwara State.”

    Saraki asked whether the Senators have Mohammed’s Curriculum Vitae (CV). There was deafening a “yes, yes, yes” in the chamber.

    Senate Leader Mohammed Ali Ndume rose from his seat, saying: “Alhaji Lai Mohammed is very well known to this chamber. I move that he should take a bow and go.”

    PDP senators half heardly opposed the motion.

    Saraki urged Mohammed to tell the chamber “a little about himself” in line with the Senate’s convention.

    Mohammed complied and introduced himself, saying he was in the chamber to seek the senators’ to be confirmed as minister. “I demands higher service to be in government”.

    In a lighter mood, Minority Leader Senator Godswill Akpabio said: “This is the Senate and not a House of Assembly. If I know the nominee very well, he may have one or two propaganda to drop before he takes a bow.”

    There was general laughter in the chamber.

    Before he took a bow and left, Mohammed promised that if confirmed, he would be passionate, committed and patriotic.”

    Amina Mohammed spoke on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) where she once served as Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Suleiman Adamu spoke about road construction and the Ministry of Works. Mr. Ibrahim Usman Jibrin talked about the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where he once worked in the Department of Development Control.

    When the Senate rose around 5.15 pm, Dr. Saraki  said the Senate in the committee of the Whole considered the President’s request for the screening and confirmation of ministerial nominees.

    He adjourned the exercise till today.

    It is expected that all the nominees would be confirmed tomorrow when the 37 nominees would have been screened.

    Chairman, Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Dino Melaye said the Senate would conclude the screening tomorrow.

    He said the chamber gave Lai Mohammed a red carpet reception because he is a prominent APC member.

    Melaye also asked the nominees unveiled yesterday to make their CVs available to facilitate their screening.

    He said another 10 nominees would be screened today.

  • Senate confirms Fayemi, Ogbeh, Onu, seven others as ministers

    Senate confirms Fayemi, Ogbeh, Onu, seven others as ministers

    The Senate on Tuesday cleared 10 ministerial nominees forwarded to the upper legislative house by President Muhammadu Buhari last month.

    Those cleared on Tuesday are – Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, former governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; the ex-National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Audu Ogbeh; the ex-National Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and a medical doctor, Dr. Osagie Ehanire.

    Others are – the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed; a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen.Abdulrahman Danbazzau (rtd); a former Special Assistant to the United Nations Secretary General on Post 2015 Development Planning, Amina Ibrahim Mohammed; Suleiman Adamu and Ibrahim Jubril Adamu from Jigawa State.

    Before the commencement of the screening and confirmation exercise, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, unveiled the 16 ministerial nominees included in the second list sent to him by President Buhari on Monday.

    This second list completes the constitutional representation of the 36 states of the federation in the federal cabinet.

    The screening exercise will continue on Wednesday.

  • Cabinet: expect much-desired change, says Fayemi

    Cabinet: expect much-desired change, says Fayemi

    One of the ministerial nominees, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, yesterday said the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari will offer Nigerians the much-desired change.

    He said the President is aware of the expectations of Nigerians and will not disappoint.

    Fayemi, who spoke exclusively with our correspondent last night, said Buhari will not offer the nation a thoughtless change.

    He said: “We campaigned on a manifesto of change, our candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari, promised change; we are going to offer real change.

    “It is about Nigeria, it is about change and it is about the President. We are going to offer the much-desired change to Nigerian.

    “My advice to Nigerians is just to be patient. I know that Nigerians have been expectant but we do not want to offer thoughtless change, we are not out for uninformed change. The President is being careful and he will live up to the expectations of Nigerians. I am sure President Buhari will not disappoint.

    Asked of his plans as a minister, Fayemi added: “It is the vision of the President that we are going to implement. Fortunately for me, I was closer to the President during the campaign; I am conversant with his vision and plans for this country.

    “I thank the President for this opportunity. I have served at sub-national level before; I will continue to live up to expectations.”

    Fayemi also told reporters at the APC National Secretariat that even though he was with the President till about 4.00pm on the day the list of ministers was submitted to the Senate President, President Buhari never mentioned it to him that he was being considered for appointment.

    Fayemi who was the Director of Research and Strategy of the APC Presidential Campaign Council is one of the 21 names submitted as nominees so far to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Asked whether the nomination came to him as a surprised, the former governor said “Well, to the extent that I was not told by the President that I was going to be on his list, yes, it came as a surprise. The president is a surprise master, let me put it that way.

    “He did not tell anyone to the best of my knowledge and I would have thought that I was in vantage position to know more than others, I was with him for five days before then, I was with him in New York at the United Nation General Assembly and he never alter a word about his list to me nor to anyone else.

    “We came back to Nigeria together, I was with him all till 4pm on the evening he submitted the list to the President of the Senate and I didn’t have any clue of what is going to happen. So, to that extent I was pleasantly surprised.”

     

     

  • Photo: Copy of the ministerial list

    Photo: Copy of the ministerial list


    [caption id="attachment_439221" align="alignleft" width="411"]Cover Page Cover Page[/caption]                               Ministerial List 1

  • Screening of ministerial nominees begins on Oct 13

    Screening of ministerial nominees begins on Oct 13

    Screening of the ministerial nominees is to commence on Tuesday, October 13.

    Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki announced the screening date after announcing the names of the nominees contained in the letter from President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He said the curriculum vitae of the nominees will be circulated to the Senators ahead of the screening.

    The nominees are :

    Babatunde Fashola

    Rotimi Amaechi

    Dr Kayode Fayemi

    Senator Chris Ngige

    Dr Ogbonaya Onu

    Malami Abubakar (SAN)

    Aisha Jumai Alhassan

    Mrs Amina Mohammed Ibrahim

    Mrs Kemi Adeosun

    Emmanuel Kachikwu

    Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Dambazzau (rtd)

    Senator Hadi Sirika

    Dr Osagie Ehanire

    Senator Udoma Udo-Udoma

    Ahmed Isa Ibeto

    Engineer Sulaiman Adamu

    Ibrahim Usman Jibril

    Adebayo Shittu

    Chief Audu Ogbeh

    Alhaji Lai Mohammed

    Solomon Dalong

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