Balarabe Abbas, ministerial nominee, slumps during senate screening

Balarabe Abbas, a ministerial nominee from Kaduna state, has slumped.

Abbas collapsed on Wednesday while being screened for the position of minister on the floor of the senate.

He was shedding light on his profile when the incident occurred.

Godswill Akpabio, the senate president, immediately called for water to be brought in and ruled that the upper legislative chamber goes into a closed session.

“Get him water… get him water and sugar,” Akpabio said.

‘OFFICE WILL BE USED TO POSITIVELY INFLUENCE YOUTH’

Earlier, Jamila Bio Ibrahim, ministerial nominee from Kwara, spoke about putting in place an “inclusive plan” for young Nigerians.

“In my capacity as minister of youth, if confirmed, my first and important role is to inspire young people. So I will use my office to positively influence the Nigerian youth and have a voice at the decision making table,” she said.

“When we design our youth development plan, we hope to bring young people to the table so we can have an all inclusive plan that proffers a bottom-up approach, in order for young Nigerians to take ownership of the youth development plan and its implementation.”

President Bola Tinubu forwarded Balarabe’s name to the senate for confirmation on Tuesday.

TheCable understands that Abbas was nominated to replace Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, whose confirmation was withheld by the senate over a security report.

Abbas served in the administration of el-Rufai as secretary to the state government (SSG).

El-Rufai was initially nominated as minister but the senate withheld his confirmation because it did not have a security clearance on him.