25th July, 2019
The Nigerian Senate crackled into life Thursday as it continued the charade of screening the 43 ministerial nominees submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari.
So far, 16 nominees have passed through the Senate low temperature grill, without anyone being seriously interrogated as the nominees were simply asked to take a bow, after some nice words and recommendations from the senators themselves.
On Thursday, the monotony of screening was broken by the appearance of 55 year-old Timipre Sylva, former governor of Bayelsa State, when minority leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, also a former deputy governor described him as a PDP loanee, who has a PDP gene or DNA in his blood.
The senate chamber erupted in laughter. 
Abaribe even went further to say that Governor Seriake Dickson, the PDP governor of Bayelsa and the Bayelsa PDP caucus in the Senate had endorsed Sylva and therefore asked that he take a bow, as ‘what is good for the goose is good for the gander’.
But his comment would not go unchallenged as Senate majority leader, Senator Abdullahi Yahaya from Kebbi North educated Abaribe that Sylva had long discarded the PDP DNA since he joined the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC in 2014 at its formation.
More comics rent the chambers again when it was the turn of Hajia Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, a ministerial nominee from Kogi state.
The woman who took the senators on a long story of the triumph of the girl-child was also asked to take a bow. Abaribe moved that Ramatu take a bow like all others. The majority leader, Yahaya also rose to lend his voice, praising the woman for being ‘dutiful’.
His pronunciation of the adjective appeared to have fallen on the dreamy side of the senators’ ears, as some thought Yahaya said the woman is ‘beautiful’.
Truly, Ramatu is beautiful, but that was not what Yahaya meant. He had to spell ‘D-U-T-I-F-U-L’ to the ears of his colleagues, before another senator cautioned them about the rules that forbid senators from imputing motives in what is said on the floor.
On Thursday, Senator Tayo Alasoadura from Ondo State, was the first to come before the senators. He spent a few minutes as he swiftly enjoyed the privilege of taking a bow, usually reserved for parliamentarians.
Next was Mustafa Baba Shehuri, from Borno state, who served as Minister of State for works in President Buhari’s first term. He too took a bow after a few comments were made concerning him by some lawmakers.
Abubakar Aliyu, a civil and water resources engineer and former deputy governor Yobe State, came next. He also took a bow after giving a little biography of himself and being strongly recommended by Senate President Ahmed Lawan, as a consensus nominee from the state.
Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi, from Kano, who was questioned by deputy senate president Ovie Omo Agege on what he would do to deal with insecurity and Boko Haram menace, were he to be made defence minister, was allowed to escape by merely providing superficial answers.
The second batch of the screening will continue later today.
