Godswil Akpabio

A group of serving and former members of the National Assembly has dismissed reports that the Senate President, Godswil Akpabio visited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the ministerial nomination of Festus Keyamo.

Recall that Akabio had visited the President at the State House, last week, over what some reports termed the nonination of the former Minister of State for Labour and Employment.

This followed a rowdy session on the floor of Senate started over a motion by the Senator representing Abia Central, Darlington Nwokocha,  seeking to suspend the screening of Keyamo as a ministerial nominee.

Nwokocha had moved the motion when Keyamo appeared before the committee of the whole and was seconded by the Senator representing Abia North, Eyinnaya Abaribe.

The lawmaker said Keyamo had ignored the summon of the National Assembly in 2020 over the recruitment of 774,000 Nigerians for the special public works programme.

Addressing a press conference over the weekend, the Dean of the Leadership Council of The Initiatives, Eseme Eyiboh, said there is nothing special about the nomination of Keyamo as minister.

Eyiboh stated that the drama which surrounded Keyamo’s ministerial nomination would not have warranted the Senate President to go to the villa because of him.

The former spokesperson of the House of Representatives said Akpabio could have been at the Presidential Villa for an already scheduled meeting.

He said: “The issue of Keyamo, I’m not speaking for the senate, but if you followed the process very well, what took place was very fair.

“They said they wanted to step down his confirmation hearing, and Keyamo tendered an apology, and that apology was put to the senate whether they had accepted or not. They unanimously accepted that apology.

“There is nothing very special about that particular nominee that the senate president would have to go to the villa. It could have been about the palliatives they are trying to put together (for Nigerians).

“Why did he not go to the villa in respect of el-Rufai? He was one person whose confirmation hearing was stepped down.

“Whether he went to the villa or not, there was nothing special other than being at his post of duty – it could have been an earlier scheduled appointment.”