8 nominees screened by DSS

Reports say some individuals have been screened by the Department of State Security, ahead of President Buhari's September deadline for the appointment of ministers.

One of the nominees said ‘‘What was done was not physical screening but mainly background checking.”

According to Punch Newspapers, the individuals who have been screened are:

1. Former Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries Limited, Mr. Festus Odimegwu.

2. Former presidential candidate, Prof. Pat Utomi.

3. Former Governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

4. Lagos-lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN).

5. Former Chief of Army, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazu (rtd.)

6. Ex-chief executive of the Federal Inland Revenue, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okaru.

7. Former finance commissioner in Lagos State, Mr. Wale Edun.

8. Former National Legal Adviser to the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

Punch Newspaper also reports that a source said “Oil prices are dwindling and Nigeria will need to diversify but in the short term, increasing the nation’s Internally Generated Revenue is the key. Tinubu explained to Buhari that when former President Olusegun Obasanjo withheld Lagos State allocations, Edun and Fowler helped to ensure that the state’s IGR increased exponentially.’’

Punch also reports that Olagunsoye Oyinlola said ‘‘To the best of my knowledge, I have not been called. May be they called others, not me.”