A ministerial nominee, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, speaking at the Senate during his screening on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
A ministerial nominee, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, who slumped while being screened by the Senate on Wednesday has been revived.
The nominee, who fell to the floor after speaking for about 15 minutes was resuscitated by medical personnel called into the chamber after he slumped.
A source in the Senate disclosed that the nominee was suffering from exhaustion.
The Senate had gone into a closed-door session while efforts were being made to revive him inside the chamber.
The ministerial nominee has been taken out of the senate chamber with an ambulance.
The screening has resumed with the third nominee, Ayodele Olawande, from Ondo State now before the senate.
Lawal is one of the three new ministerial nominees being screened by the Senate, with others being Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim from Kwara State and Mr Ayodele Olawande from Ondo State.
He was the second nominee to be screened after the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, moved a motion to extend the sitting time beyond 2 p.m. to conclude all the items for the day.
While speaking, the nominee said he has been serving in government for a long time and intends to bring his experience to the cabinet of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
He had said, “I want to indicate clearly that, as part of my career, I was appointed secretary to the government three times from 2015 till today. I want to say that I am likely the longest-serving secretary to the government in Nigeria.
“I have been part of administration; I have been part of policy-making. I have been part of trying to change things in the country based on what I did at the federal level and at the state level.
“I want to bring this experience to wherever I find myself in the new cabinet of the president. I want to express my gratitude to all of you for listening, and I also want to extend my sincere thanks to the President of the Senate for allowing me to stand before the chambers.”
