By Henry Umoru, Abuja
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, now Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajiabiamila, has forwarded to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, the remaining list of ministerial nominees.
The list is a completion of the remaining 11 states that have not been allowed a ministerial slot.
To allow Gbajiabiamila present the list, the Senate invoked its Order 12(i) to allow the former Speaker to enter the chamber at 3.15p.m.
Before the Chief of Staff came into the chamber, a ministerial nominee, Lateef Fagbemi, Kwara, was standing before the Senators for screening.
The Senate today entered the third day of the screening of the nominees submitted to it last week Thursday by President Tinubu for subsequent confirmation.
Tinubu had, last week, forwarded 28 nominees to the Senate for screening.
Also, the Senate had, on Monday, screened 14 out of the 28 just as it set to attend to 14 nominees today.
According to the Order Paper of today, five nominees were listed for screening. They are Dele Alake (Ekiti); Muhammad Idris (Niger); Professor Ali Pate Bauchi; Doris Anite Uzoka (Imo); and Lateef Fagbemi SAN (Kwara).
Addressing the senators, Dele Alake who was the first to appear said that regulation of social media should be strengthened, just as he urged the National Assembly to amend its existing laws towards regulating social media to curb fake and inaccurate information.
Alake, who raised serious concerns over the misapplication of social media in Nigeria, bitterly complained about the misuse of the platform while fielding questions from senators during his screening exercise on Wednesday in Abuja.
While acknowledging its advantages in information dissemination, Alake warned that the disadvantages of social media could throw the country into confusion if not checked.
He added that the bad side of social media can be detrimental to any good and decent society.
He therefore called on the legislative arm of government to amend its existing laws towards regulating social media to curb fake and inaccurate information.
Alake equally urged victims of libel and defamation not to hesitate in applying the full weight of the law on culprits when there are infractions by any medium be it broadcast or print, just as he stressed the need to test the laws of the federation to ascertain its efficacy and proficiency.
Also screened today so far is Muhammad Idris, Niger State as Fagbemi is presently being questioned by the Senators.
Source: Vanguard
