Senators George Akume and Godswill Akpabio were on Wednesday asked to take a bow and go by the Senate as screening for ministerial nominees commenced.
Also asked to take a bow was, Mr. Emeka Nwajiuba, a member of the House of Representatives.
In conformity with the tradition of the Red chamber, the nominees were cordially received and treated without rancor.
They were described by the Senate President as gentlemen.
Asked to briefly elaborate on his Curriculum Vitae, Senator Godswill Akpabio, nominee from Akwa Ibom State, described himself as an uncommon man with uncommon achievements.
He pledged to continue to offer uncommon service to Nigerians. “That is, service backed by integrity, dedication and love. If you don’t love your people, you can’t serve them well,” he said.
Akpabio pointed to his achievements as governor of Akwa Ibom and the quality of constituency projects undertaken by him as a Senator as evidence of his passion to serve.
In his own remarks, Nwajiuba, a Doctorate Degree holder in Law, enumerated the bills he had proposed in the House and there expected impact on the people as proof of his service to the people.
Addressing the nominees, the Senate President urged them to be bridge builders between the legislators and the executive.
“The country and the citizens will benefit when the legislators and the executive work together.
We expect that when you become ministers, you would lead the vanguard of those who passed through the chamber to build a better relationship between the two arms of government.
“We are in a hurry to work, but we can only achieve success when the two arms work together.
“We will also insist on oversight. Since you understand what it is all about, we want you to explain to those who may not understand that when our committees invite them, they must appear.
“They should not see it as hostile action and must not undermine our efforts to do good,” Lawan said, while wishing the nominees well.
Earlier, the Senators had quizzed Mr. Uche Ogah, on issues concerning the oil and gas as well as banking sectors.
