The Senate will on Tuesday screen former Chairman of the Board of Citi Bank Nigeria, Dr. Olayemi Michael Cardoso for the position of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as the 10th Red Chamber resumes from its annual recess.
Also to be screened and confirmed expeditiously along with Cardoso are the other nominated deputy governors to enable them to begin work.
The Senate would be resuming plenary after two months of summer holidays which began on August 7, after setting up its 74 standing Committees, and confirmation of President Tinubu’s ministerial nominees.
Specifically, President Bola Tinubu, had while the Senate was in recess had approved the nomination of Cardoso to serve as the new Governor of CBN and four new Deputy Governors for the apex bank, for a term of five years at the first instance, pending their confirmation by the Senate according to the law.
The federal lawmakers are equally expected to receive and attend to the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) which is the legal template upon which the 2024 budget would be predicated. The MTEF/FSP is traditionally approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) before transmission to the National Assembly.
The Fiscal Responsibility Act gave the President an August deadline to prepare and present the MTEF/FSP to federal lawmakers.
The consideration and approval of the MTEF-FSP will be followed by the scrutiny of the 2024 Appropriation Bill which is expected to be presented to the National Assembly, possibly in the coming month.
The Red Chamber will also start its legislative assignment by attending to any pending communication from President Tinubu and also constitute the remaining standing committees.
Apart from the CBN leadership, some of the fresh appointees that would be screened by the Senate include Jamila Bio Ibrahim to serve as the Minister of Youth, and Ayodele Olawande to serve as the Minister of State for Youth.
Zacch Adedeji as Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service was also appointed for a term of four years in the first instance in acting capacity for a 90-day period before his subsequent confirmation as the substantive Executive Chairman.
The Senate is expected to screen for confirmation, Chairman, directors and members of the reconstituted Niger Delta Development Commission.
They are, Chiedu Ebie, Chairman, (Delta State); Samuel Ogbuku – Managing Director / CEO (Bayelsa); Boma Iyaye – Executive Director, Finance and Admin, (Rivers); Victor Antai, Executive Director, Projects (Akwa-Ibom) and Ifedayo Abegunde, Executive Director, Corporate Services (Ondo).
Others are, Dimaro Denyanbofa – State Representative ( Bayelsa); Abasi Ndikan Nkono, State Representative (Akwa Ibom); Monday Igbuya, State Representative (Delta); Tony Okocha, State Representative (Rivers); Patrick Aisowieren, State Representative (Edo); and Kyrian Uchegbu, State Representative (Imo).
The rest are; Patrick Aisowieren, State Representative (Edo); Kyrian Uchegbu, State Representative (Imo); Otito Atikase, State Representative (Ondo); Dimgba Eruba, State Representative (Abia); Orok Out Duke, State Representative (Cross River); Nick Wende – Zonal Representative, North Central; Namdas Abdulrazak, Zonal Representative, (North East); and Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir, Zonal Representative (North West).
