The senator representing Abia Central Senatorial District, Darlington Nwokocha, on Monday, moved a motion for the suspension of the ministerial screening of the former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo.
After Nwokocha moved the motion, his colleague from Abia-South Senatorial District, Enyinnaya Abaribe, seconded it, leading to a rowdy session at the red chamber.
Nwokocha had accused Keyamo who was a minister under the administration of the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari of disrespecting the 9th National Assembly and accusing the last parliament of being corrupt.
The lawmaker said during the Buhari administration, Keyamo was invited to explain the Special Public Works programme but he did not honour the invitation.
The programme was coordinated by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) which was under the ministry Keyamo supervised.
The Federal Government had in 2020 earmarked N52 billion for the programme to recruit 1,000 youths from each of the 774 local governments for three months and pay them N20,000 each.
The Senate Public Account Committee subsequently began a probe on the matter but the then minister shunned the invitation by the committee.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, thereafter took the decision to subject the motion to a voice vote but the lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on the matter.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had on Friday nominated Keyamo as minister under his administration.
Tinubu announced this in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during plenary on Friday.
The president also withdrew the ministerial nomination of Maryam Shetty from Kano and replaced her with Dr Mairiga Mahmud.
Keyamo and Mahmud’s nomination followed the recent submission of the second batch of ministerial nominees by President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, last week Wednesday.
The supplementary list came as a continuation of the first list of the 28 ministerial nominees presented by Senate President Akpabio the previous week.
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