Africa-Press – Nigeria. Some residents of Kano State staged a peaceful protest at the National Assembly on Tuesday, demanding the immediate confirmation of Engineer Abdullahi Garba Ramat as the Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The protesters arrived in several Kano Line and coastal buses, carrying placards with messages like “Tinubu’s nomination should be respected” and “Akpabio and Barau must stop undermining President Tinubu.”
They accused the Senate of delaying Ramat’s confirmation weeks after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu nominated him for the position on October 7, 2025.
During plenary, Senate President Godswill Akpabio read Tinubu’s nomination letter, but the Senate has yet to act on it more than a month later.
In it’s previous response to public concern, Senate Spokesman Senator Yemi Adaramodu said on Friday that the delay was due to multiple petitions filed against Ramat.
He dismissed allegations that the Senate leadership had collected a $10m bribe to block the nomination.
“The Senate must suspend consideration of any nominee facing serious public petitions or controversies. This is not new; similar cases have occurred in the past,” Adaramodu said.
The leader of the protest, Ahmed I. Suleiman, told journalists that the Senate had no reason to delay the confirmation since Ramat had already been screened and recommended by the Senate Committee on Power, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.
In a letter sent to Senate President Akpabio and copied to President Tinubu, Kano Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, and Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, the protesters said Ramat was well-qualified for the position.
“Engr. Abdullahi has served diligently in various roles in governance and the private sector. He has the qualifications and experience to lead NERC at this critical time in our country’s energy sector,” the letter stated.
The group urged the Senate to complete the confirmation process without further delay, warning that the continued inaction could discourage qualified Nigerians from public service and affect confidence in the Senate’s screening process.
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