[REVEALED] Ministerial Screening: Why we asked Wike, others to ‘take a bow-and-go’ — Senator Yari

FORMER Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, yesterday, said there’s nothing strange about ‘take a bow-and-go’, in the screening of ministerial nominees as it has been a normal tradition in the legislative arm of government.

Yari, who is representing Zamfara West Senatorial District spoke to State House correspondents after meeting behind closed doors with Vice President, Kashim Shettima in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Out of the 14 nominees that were screened on Monday, seven were asked to take a bow and go, with others drilled for some minutes where they were asked questions relating to security, infrastructure, and date of birth among others.

Those who enjoyed the bow and go privileged were the immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike; a two-term of House of Representatives member, Abubakar Momoh from Etsako Local Government Area of Edo State; Senator Abubakar Kyari, who was in the 8th and 9th Senate; Acting National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC;; Abubakar Kyari; a Senator in the 8th Senate, Senator John Enoh; and the immediate Governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru.

Others who were asked to take a bow and go were and former Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Nkiru Onyejiocha who represented Isuikwuato/ Umunneochi Federal Constituency, Abia State; former member, House of Representatives and Nigeria Ambassador to Germany, since 2017, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar.

Fielding questions from journalists, former Senator Yari, described the “take a bow and go” tradition used during ministerial screening in the Senate as normal. He explained that this tradition is applied to prominent Nigerians who have served the country for a long time or those with well-known track records.

Yari emphasised that whenever a thorough screening is needed, it is conducted.

Asked whether he was satisfied after interacting with the nominees, he expressed confidence in their credibility, stating that both the President and the National Assembly have thoroughly investigated their backgrounds.

He mentioned that questions were tailored to each nominee’s field of expertise, and he found their answers satisfactory. Yari assured Nigerians that they would strive to put forward the best candidates for the job and requested their patience and prayers.

Yari also mentioned that his visit to the Vice President was to congratulate and pray for him, as they have had a long-time friendship starting from their days together in the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), where they had only three state governors Borno, Yobe and Zamfara on the platform of the party.