The former Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has been cleared by the Nigeria Senate for a ministerial role.
Wike on Monday arrived at the National Assembly to appear before the lawmakers for his ministerial screening.
It is not clear which ministry Wike will head as President Bola Tinubu did not indicate that in the list sent to the National Assembly.
Wike, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was part of the first set of nominees screened by the Senate on Monday.
Wike, who turned against the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and worked for Tinubu during the 2023 February presidential election, is widely believed to have been compensated with the ministerial appointment for supporting the then-APC president candidate, Tinubu.
However, some Nigerians have expressed surprise that Wike accepted the ministerial nomination after he repeatedly and boldly described the ruling APC as cancer which according to him, is worse than the PDP which he described as malaria.
Wike had also vowed never to accept any ministerial appointment as he said in a video that went viral on the internet: “Only one person can be a minister from a state; I will not be a minister. I will not.
“I am not a liability; Rivers State is an asset. So if you don’t want to win an election, it’s your business. I’m not the one running the election. He who wears the shoes knows where it pinches him.”