29th June, 2011
Nigerian Senate this morning began the screening of the 34 ministerial nominees sent to the upper chamber yesterday by President Goodluck Jonathan.
The ministers-designate were up till press time answering questions from the senators on what they will offer if they are finally appointed into the cabinet.
Former Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, from Abia State who was the first to be screened, told the Senate that the Federal Government planned to create one million jobs annually and N50 billion had been provided for the project in the 2011 budget.
Wogu claimed that unemployment rate in Nigeria is better than in the United States or the United Kingdom.
But he was faulted by senators who said the social welfare programme for the unemployed persons in the U.K. or the U.S. does not exist in Nigeria.
The former labour minister said he relied on the figures provided by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics.
If appointed Minister of Interior, Wogu said his primary assignment would be to reverse the issue of porous borders in Nigeria.
He noted that influx of a liens was most worrisome in states sharing borders with Niger Republic and Chad in the North while similar challenges abound in the West African axis.
The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, Senator Bala Mohammed who was the second nominee to be screened, said he intends to make land accessible to Nigerians for private and commercial purposes.
The pioneer minister of the Niger Delta, Elder Peter Godsday Orubebe told the Senate that the creation of the ministry by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had achieved “a reasonable peace†in the region.
Before the creation of the ministry, Orubebe said, the restiveness in the Niger Delta region led to a drastic drop in oil production in Nigeria.
But with the amnesty granted the militants, Orubebe said oil output has increased.
He said lack of fund has reduced the pace of work the ministry planned to do, adding that government targets absolute peace in the Niger Delta region.
Orubebe said the Niger Delta ministry has provided opportunities for youths to train in the oil and gas sector and aviation among others.
Other nominees were being screened as at the time of going to press.
—Moyo Fabiyi
