Tinubu withdraws Maryam Shetty as ministerial nominee, submits Keyamo, Mahmoud

President Bola Tinubu has withdrawn the nomination of Maryam Shetty as a minister.

The president communicated his decision to the senate as screening of ministerial nominees resumed on Friday.

Godswill Akpabio, senate president, read the letter from the president during plenary.

Mariya Mahmoud would replace Shetty on the list.

The president has also added Festus Keyamo, former minister of state for labour and employment, to the nomination list.

Shetty was a nominee from Kano state. Mahmoud, her replacement, also hails from Kano.

On Wednesday, Tinubu added 19 names to the list of ministerial nominees sent to the senate for screening, six days after dispatching the first 28 names to parliament.

Keyamo’s addition now takes the total number of ministerial nominees to 48.

As of the time of filing this report, Gboyega Oyetola, former governor of Osun; Ibrahim Gaidam, former governor of Yobe and incumbent senator representing Yobe east; Sabi Abdullahi, a former senator; and Heineken Lokpobiri, another ex-lawmaker, have been screened and asked to “take a bow and go”.

The senate is taking a break for lawmakers of Muslim persuasion to observe the Friday prayers.