Nigeria's Senate Confirms Remaining Buhari Cabinet Nominees

FILE - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, June 14, 2015 Johannesburg, South Africa.

Nigeria's Senate confirmed the remaining 18 candidates for President Muhammadu Buhari's cabinet on Thursday, completing the screening of all 36 ministers, Senate President Bukola Sarakiby said.

Their names will be announced after Buhari, a former military ruler in Africa's most populous country and top energy producer, returns from a trip to India and swears them in. He returns on Friday but no date has been set for the swearing in ceremony.

In Nigeria, ministers are nominated and approved before their portfolios are announced. The only controversial figure was Rotimi Amaechi, the former governor of oil-rich Rivers State who denies corruption allegations against him.

Senators from the opposition People's Democratic Party walked out in protest shortly before Amaechi's confirmation was announced.

Buhari was elected in March on a campaign to clean up corruption and mismanagement, but has been criticised for waiting until September to name a cabinet while the economy has been hammered by a sharp drop in oil prices.

Those approved included Okechukwu Enyinna Enelamah, a former Goldman Sachs banker and head of Nigeria's biggest private equity firm, who analysts say should head the finance ministry.

He currently heads African Capital Alliance (ACA), which has raised over $750 million in managed funds since its inception in 1997.