A MINISTERIAL nominee from Kaduna state, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, collapsed while being screened by the Senate on Wednesday, October 4.
The incident occurred shortly after he presented his biography and outlined his plans if he is confirmed minister.
Before he slumped, Sunday Marshall, the senator representing Kaduna South, told the Senate that all three senators from Kaduna state had no objections regarding the nominee.
In what appeared to be a lack of first aid in the building, The ICIR observed that when the nominee collapsed, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, requested water and sugar for him and the attention of one, Wale, a doctor.
The Senate President screamed, “Give him water and sugar, water and sugar.”
Meanwhile, Akpabio ordered the National Assembly correspondents to move their cameras away from the scene as sympathisers, including senators and others, struggled to revive the nominee. The journalists were eventually ordered out of the Chamber.
Read also: Tinubu replaces el-Rufai with Balarabe Abbas
The screening proceeding was temporarily suspended after the incident, and the nominee was taken away for medical attention.
When filing this report, the nominee’s health status was unknown.
The ICIR had earlier reported that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu replaced the former Kaduna state Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, with Abbas after the Senate refused to confirm the former governor.
On August 7, The ICIR reported that the senate confirmed 45 out of 48 ministers nominated by President Tinubu.
Three nominees, namely, Nasir El-Rufai, Abubakar Danladi and Stella Okotete were not confirmed due to security clearance, according to the Senate President.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M
