During his screening before the Senate, the Kaduna State ministerial nominee, Abbas Balarabe, experienced a health issue and collapsed.
Balarabe had just concluded his presentation to the lawmakers when he collapsed while receiving praise from one of the Kaduna senators.
In response to his collapse, the Senate President, GodsWill Akpabio, urgently called for water and sugar and requested Dr. Musa’s assistance. Following this incident, Akpabio called for a closed-door session.
Balarabe had been nominated as a replacement for the former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and his nomination was conveyed in a letter read by Akpabio during the plenary session.
Alongside Balarabe, the President had nominated Dr. Jamila Ibrahaim and Ayodele Olawande as Minister of Youths and Minister of State for Youths, respectively. Balarabe, a former Secretary to the Kaduna State government, had previously been appointed to lead a 65-man transition committee in April.
Notably, the Senate had declined to confirm the nomination of El-Rufai in August, along with Stella Okotete (Delta State), the former Managing Director of Nexim Bank, and Abubakar Danlandi, a nominee from Taraba State. The President had initially sent 48 nominees to the Senate, with 45 of them receiving confirmation as ministers.