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Senate Suspends Recess, Rules to Screen Buhari’s Ministerial Nominees
The Senate has decided to postpone its annual recess in order to screen President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees.
The lawmakers had planned to embark on the vacation on Thursday. The recess usually lasts for about seven weeks.
The decision to postpone the recess was reached after the upper chamber received the list of ministerial nominees.
The Senate’s acting spokesperson, Adedayo Adeyeye, disclosed the resolution to journalists after plenary on Tuesday.
He said the decision was made to hasten the screening process of the appointees.
The president sent the list of ministerial nominees to the Senate and it was announced on Tuesday morning. The list includes 43 appointees and was read on the floor of the Senate at the start of plenary.
The Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan, who read out the letter, stated that the screening process will commence on Wednesday.
Briefing journalists, Mr Adeyeye said the Senate has also resolved to suspend its rules and hold plenary on odd days.
“We have postponed the recess till next week, end of next week. We are suspending a lot of our rules.
“Plenary normally does not hold on Fridays, plenary will hold on Friday this week and Monday next week in other to hasten the process. We want to do a thorough job and we want Nigerians to know that we are doing a thorough job. It is going to be a lot of sacrifice on our path.
“We are going to work in unusual hours, normally we sit from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., that will not apply till during this confirmation hearing. We are going to sit till very late, virtually every day. On Friday, we will sit till we are tired. We will go on a brief recess and might proceed until 10 p.m.
“We have given ourselves enough time, we will work in unusual hours,” he said.
He further explained that the ninth Senate is a complete departure from the past and if the screening process is rushed, it will not be thorough.
When asked if ministerial nominees who perform below expectation will be confirmed, Uba Sani, a member of the committee, said the ninth Senate will take the screening process very seriously.
“Those who usually will be asked to bow, this time around we will try as much as possible to ask them so they explain to the public what they intend to do.
“Even those who are returning will be asked to tell Nigerians their plan. Nigeria will you want them to know their agenda.
“One cannot be able to answer the question at the moment, we cannot prejudge them. We believe all the nominees of the president are qualified,” he said.
Mr Adeyeye said the Senate is an independent body, the constitution gave the lawmakers the role to either confirm or reject a nominee.
Premium Times
FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.
Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.
“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.
“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.
There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.
“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.
AFP
Iran, on Wednesday, shut the Strait of Hormuz following fresh Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, raising fears that a fragile ceasefire with the United States could collapse less than a day after it was reached.
The closure comes amid renewed hostilities that have cast doubt over efforts to halt more than a month of fighting. While both Iran and the United States had earlier declared victory after brokering the truce, fresh missile and drone attacks were reported across Iran and parts of the Gulf, alongside intensified Israeli bombardments in Lebanon.
In Beirut, Israeli strikes hit residential and commercial areas without prior warning, leaving at least multiple people dead and many others injured in what has been described as one of the deadliest days of the conflict.
Iranian state media confirmed the closure, with IRNA reporting that the move was taken “in the wake of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.” The development has heightened concerns over the stability of the ceasefire agreement mediated by the United States.
Authorities in Iran also imposed strict controls on maritime movement in the strategic waterway. Ships near the strait were instructed to seek permission from Sepah, a special operations unit under the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, before passage. A radio message cited by The Wall Street Journal warned that any vessel attempting to cross without approval “will be destroyed.”
Earlier in the day, Iran had indicated a willingness to reopen the strait during the proposed two-week ceasefire, noting this would be done with “coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.” U.S. officials, meanwhile, said American forces could assist in managing ship traffic, although details remain unclear.
U.S. President Donald Trump also told ABC News he was open to a “joint venture” arrangement with Iran that would involve charging tolls for vessels passing through the strait.
However, reports of ceasefire breaches soon emerged. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who played a role in negotiating the agreement, said on X that violations had already been recorded, further deepening uncertainty over whether the truce will hold.
The Presidency has come up with reasons behind President Bola Tinubu’s absent at the commissioning of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s projects in Lagos, on Wednesday.
Tinubu was noticeably absent at the scheduled project commissioning in Lagos, sparking public curiosity.
However, Sunday Dare, his Special Adviser on Public Communications and Orientation, has clarified the reason behind the last-minute development.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Dare revealed that the President had to prioritise urgent national security matters over the event.
According to him, although Tinubu is currently in Lagos, he has been deeply engaged in high-level State duties, particularly ongoing security briefings tied to recent developments across the country.
“The president has been busy taking constant briefs and has to prioritise when it comes to state matters, especially security,” Dare stated.
He referenced rising security concerns, including recent unrest linked to incidents in Jos, noting that the President has been closely monitoring the situation and working directly with intelligence agencies.
Dare emphasised that Tinubu remains fully engaged behind the scenes, actively coordinating with security operatives and receiving continuous updates to address emerging threats.
The absence, he stressed, should not be seen as neglect of official duties but rather a reflection of the President’s focus on safeguarding national stability at a critical time.
Tinubu skipped the Lagos commissioning not out of disregard, but to handle pressing security issues demanding immediate presidential attention.
