Ministerial nominee from Kaduna, Lawal Balarabe collapses during screening

A ministerial nominee from Kaduna State, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, Wednesday, reportedly collapsed while being screened on the floor of the Senate.

Mr Lawal was nominated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to replace a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai whose screening before the Senate in August was unsuccessful.

According to reports, Mr Lawal who was screened today alongside Jamila Bio Ibrahim from Kwara State and Mr Ayodele Olawande from Ondo State and was the second ministerial nominee on the list, collapsed around 1:50 p.m. after he introduced himself and highlighted his achievements so far in the private and public sectors.

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, was heard requesting water and sugar to revive the ministerial nominee as soon as the incident occured.

“Water, water! Can you give him sugar and water? Can someone bring water and sugar? Please, call Dr Wale!” Akpabio exclaimed while some other senators rushed to the podium to save the ministerial nominee’s life.

Following the incident, the Senate President immediately directed that the Senate go into a closed-door session as he instructed the cameramen to leave the chamber.

Other senators were seen trying to help Abbas to a seat.

Mr Tinubu had in September announced the appointment of Mrs Ibrahim to serve as minister of youth and Mr Olawande to serve as minister of state for youth pending their confirmation by the Senate.

After about an hour which gave room for the ministerial nominee from Kaduna to be whisked away from the podium of the chamber, the Senate resumed sitting and called on the ministerial nominee from Ondo State, Ayodele Olawande to the Senate chamber for screening.

Mr Lawal was hence placed at a corner of the chamber where a medical team of the National Assembly administered treatment on him.

Chairman of Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, said Mr Lawal slumped during the screening as a result of fatigue adding that when the ministerial nominee was resuscitated, he wanted to continue with the screening but leadership of the Senate prevented him.

“The three nominees that came today have been confirmed. Two of them stood throughout but unfortunately one of them when he started before the screening, he did well, he submitted all his resume and he is the current SSG of Kaduna State, he has a very rich resume.

“Unfortunately, due to exhaustion and fatigue, he had a little health hiccup and we had to drop him, we had to bring him down, let him just get himself together, then he was put together.

“He even wanted to continue but the Senate said look, because of the exhaustion just go and seek further medical attention and then rest.

“We have already gotten your resume, we have already started and we have got what we wanted from you, so there was no reason for carrying us to Newcastle. There was no reason to delay him further.”

Mr Lawal, 65, was the chairman of the 65-member transition committee that handled the swearing-in of Uba Sani as governor of Kaduna State, on 29 May.

He served as the secretary to the Kaduna State Government under former Governor Nasir El-Rufai and he is currently serving in the position under Governor Uba Sani.

He headed the transition committee of the state in 2015 and also served as the vice-chairman of the committee in 2019.

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