The Senate on Wednesday suspended the confirmation of Kingsley Udeh (SAN) as minister because of the “absence of a mandatory security clearance.”
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the plenary, announced that the confirmation could not proceed until the chamber “received the required security report on the nominee.”
Akpabio informed his colleagues that “The confirmation of the minister-nominee would have been next on the list, but we need security clearance.”
This nomination for Udeh, who is from Enugu State, had been requested by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday “in line with Section 147(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended),” which grants the President the power to appoint ministers subject to Senate confirmation.
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Udeh’s nomination was put forward following the resignation of Uche Nnaji, the former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, who stepped down last month amid public pressure stemming from a “controversy over his academic credentials.” Nnaji’s resignation had left Enugu State without representation in the Federal Executive Council.
Although Akpabio had referred Udeh’s nomination to the Committee of the Whole for screening the previous day, when the matter appeared on the Order Paper on Wednesday,
Akpabio announced the postponement due to the pending clearance.
He did hint that a senator had told him the nominee was “already on his way to the National Assembly with the security clearance letter.”
However, Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) “cautioned against compromising institutional procedures,” insisting that the Senate “must not act outside established norms.”
Ningi stated: “This is an institution. I have nothing against the young man; I know him. But let’s respect this institution. You can’t wait for the nominee because he’s coming with a security clearance letter. No, that’s not done.”
Akpabio clarified his intentions in response, saying, “I don’t even have any intention of waiting for anybody because after screening them, you don’t see them again.”
The Senate President then directed the Senate Leader to move a motion for a closed-door session to deliberate on “national issues,” and the lawmakers subsequently dissolved into an executive session.
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