Ministerial Screening: See What Lai,Dambazau And Ehanire Had To Say

APC National Publicity Secretary Lai Mohammed has just been screened by the Senate. He is the first ministerial nominee to be asked to take a bow and go without being asked any questions by Senate members. He promised to be as passionate and committed if confirmed as minister. Hmmmmmmm no questions for Lai Mohammed......see more after the cut

  

The senate has screened Gen. Abdurrahman Dambazau (Rtd), a former Chief of Army staff. During his presentation, Dambazzau said Nigeria has a defense policy which needs to be reviewed regularly. He also called for the review of allowances of soldiers, both for those serving in the North East and those who serve in foreign missions in places such as Sierra Leone. He said the Nigerian military has to stick with National security and not regime security. He said that the current N1,000 allowance of soldiers is too low and must be reviewed upwards.
On conflict of farmers and herdsmen in the North and South, he said this has an adverse effects on agriculture. He said ecological issues such as desertification and erosion have to first be tackled to eradicate this problem. He said this crisis takes a religious turn and called for the root cause of these issues to be addressed. He called for more medical support for soldiers.
On making the military a viable employment opportunity for youths, he called on government to make the terms and conditions of engaging a soldier very attractive. He said Boko Haram is a conflict and is a pseudo-religious crisis.  

Osagie Ehanire, a German trained surgeon from Edo state has been screened. During his presentation, he said the lack of confidence in Nigeria's medical sector has resulted in most Nigerians going abroad for medical attention. According to him, there needs to be training and retraining of medical personnel. He called for the fight of corruption to be taken to the health care sector in Nigeria.

On wrong medical diagnosis which has led to death of many Nigerians, the ministerial nominee called for better curriculum in schools as well medical personnel consulting each other in serious cases.

According to him, one of the problems in the health sectors is the non inclusion of young medical doctors in the scheme of things. He called on government to adhere to any agreement reached with medical workers so as to avoid incessant strike actions. He acknowledged that maternal and infant mortality have increased in Nigeria. He said a combination of non availability of adequate health facility and staff as well as non affordability of medical services have all increased the rate of infant and maternal mortality. Ehanire said it is unethical for public doctors to run a private practice. He was asked to take a bow and go.