Just in: Ministerial nominee Darma undergoes Senate screening

The Senate has commenced the screening of Muttaqha Darma as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The ministerial nominee was ushered into the hallowed chamber at exactly 12:32 pm on Thursday (Today).

At the moment, senators had begun questioning the nominee on his qualifications, policy direction, and readiness to manage the critical housing portfolio.

President Bola Tinubu had on Wednesday written to the Senate, seeking the screening and subsequent confirmation of Darma as a minister.

Akpabio, who read the communication from President Tinubu, thereafter referred it to the Committee of the Whole for further legislative action, with a directive to report back as soon as practicable.

Darma, a trained engineer, holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bayero University Kano and is expected to bring technical expertise to the Housing and Urban Development Ministry, a sector central to addressing Nigeria’s widening housing deficit and urban infrastructure gaps.

His nomination, however, comes against the backdrop of a politically eventful past.