On Wednesday, chaos erupted at the National Assembly as ministerial nominee Balarabe Abbas collapsed during the screening process conducted by the Nigerian Senate. The nominee had just presented his profile before the incident occurred.

The incident prompted the Senate to enter into a closed session. It was reported earlier that upon the resumption of plenary, lawmakers began the screening of three new ministerial candidates nominated by President Bola Tinubu.

The nominees scheduled for screening on that day included Balarabe Abbas Lawal from Kaduna State, Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim from Kwara State, and Ayodele Olawande from Ondo State. The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, had read a letter from President Tinubu the previous day, seeking the confirmation of these additional ministerial nominees.

President Tinubu nominated Abbas to replace the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, who was not screened and cleared by the Senate due to security reasons. It is worth noting that in August 2023, the Senate screened and confirmed 45 ministerial nominees who have since been sworn in as ministers, while three nominees were rejected.