Senate will screen defence minister nominee on Wednesday – Opeyemi Bamidele

The Senate has announced it will screen former military chief Christopher Gwabin Musa as the new defence minister on Wednesday (today).

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Musa’s nomination followed the resignation of then-defence minister Mohammed Badaru due to reported health issues.

President Bola Tinubu, thereafter, nominated Mr Musa in a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday.

Mr Bamidele stated that the Senate “ is already in possession of the request of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to screen his defence minister nominee”.

The letter will be read on the Senate floor today.

“Subsequently, it will immediately proceed to the screening of the nominee consistent with Section 147 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” Mr Bamidele explained.

“We cannot delay such a request, especially at this crucial time in the history of our fatherland. We are treating the request as a matter that directly touches the core interest of our nation so that the federal government can sustain its campaigns against bandits, extremists, terrorists and other forces undermining our national security.

“Since the president has declared a State of emergency on national security, both the Presidency and National Assembly must work hand in hand to ensure peace, stability and good government. The screening of the defence minister nominee is one of the ways to demonstrate such a synergy purely in the national interest,” he stated.