Akpabio stops El-Rufai from speaking on controversial issue at screening

<p>A loud resistance erupted from Senators, leading the Senate President to intervene for El-Rufai.</p>, <span>Nasir El-Rufai Tribune Online</span>, <h2>Senate President Godswill Akpabio put a halt to the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai's address at the Senate. The interruption came in response to a question of an ongoing petition being faced by El-Rufai.</h2>, <p>Nasir El-Rufai, who served as the Governor of Kaduna State from May 2015 to May 2023, was one of the nominees on President Bola Tinubu's 28-man ministerial list.</p>, <p>During the screening, Senator Abdulaziz Yari from Zamfara West Senatorial District posed a question to El-Rufai about his plans to improve Nigeria's electricity generation and distribution, should he be appointed as the power minister.</p>, <p>However, before El-Rufai could respond, Senator Ibrahim Khalid from Kaduna North Senatorial District urged his fellow lawmakers to let El-Rufai take a bow without further questioning, citing the precedence of former Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) who were also allowed to do the same during their ministerial screenings.</p>, <p>Following this, Senator Karimi Sunday from Kogi West Senatorial District took the floor and brought forth a "very strong petition" against El-Rufai, focusing on issues of insecurity, unity, and national cohesion. Despite praising El-Rufai's previous performance as Kaduna Governor and FCT Minister, Senator Sunday emphasized the need to address the petition in the screening process.</p>, <p>While some lawmakers supported the plea to allow El-Rufai to take a bow and leave, Senator Muhammad Sani from Niger East Senatorial District urged his colleagues to proceed in a similar fashion to that of other ex-governors.</p>, <p>Responding to Senator Yari's question, El-Rufai suggested that amendments to the Electricity Act 2023 and the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 might be necessary to bring about the desired changes in the power sector.</p>, <p>The situation took a different turn when El-Rufai at