Ministerial screening: Presidency lobbies PDP senators

Indications emerged on Tuesday that the Presidency has started reaching out to members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the Senate to ensure soft landing for President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees when the screening starts next week.

The manifestation came to the fore when the Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, addressed a joint conference on Tuesday in company with the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) Senator Ita Enang.

Enang told journalists in company with Akpabio in Abuja that he had initiated contact with the PDP senators as part of his duty to reach out to members of the National Assembly.

He said, “Part of our job is to reach out to all the sections. And the past is gone, this is a new beginning. We are doing this in the interest of Nigerians.”

Akpabio on his part said he would like to know what the nominees have in stock for Nigerians.

He however expressed satisfaction with the ministerial list presented by Buhari, adding that “even though in the opposition party, we believe strongly in one Nigeria and we believe in the unity and progress of this country.”

He added, “Our stand is that anything that can elevate the living standards of Nigerians and improve the economy of the entire country must be supported.

“It is our duty to rally round the President to make the economy improve. On a personal note I am impressed with the list sent by the President. I believe that he has kept to his words by ensuring that he sought out a lot of people of integrity that can salvage the country.

“The Senate will still do its work of screening and re-screening. More than 70 to 80 per cent of the people on the list should scale through.

“We will do our best to ensure a robust debate, fine-tune the policies of the APC administration to better the lots of Nigerians and to ensure that Nigeria gets out of the current economic doldrums.

“So far, on a personal note, I am impressed with the list that was sent by the President. I believe that he has kept to his word by ensuring that we search for people of integrity that can salvage the country.

“But of course, the Senate will still do its work of screening and re-screening and I pray that more than 70 or 80 per cent of people on the list should pass through.”

Meanwhile, a former Governor of old Anambra State in the Third Republic, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, has appealed to the senators to desist from carrying out any political vendetta while screening the nominees.