Abuja, March 31, 2010, SPA -- Nigerian lawmakers have approved the majority of the new Cabinet proposed by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, according to AP. Senators approved a list of 38 candidates Wednesday that included former information minister Dora Akunyili. She circulated a memo to the Cabinet in February calling on it to grant then-Vice President Goodluck Jonathan powers to act on behalf of President Umaru Yar'Adua who has been ill and absent from office for months. The Cabinet also includes one of Yar'Adua's nephews. Jonathan dissolved the 42-member Cabinet on March 17, about a month after the National Assembly empowered him to become acting president in Yar'Adua's absence. It was seen as an effort to purge top officials loyal to Yar'Adua, though some were included in the new cabinet. -- SPA 20:54 LOCAL TIME 17:54 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/764677