President Bola Tinubu has submitted the names of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation, days after forwarding an initial batch of three nominees.
The latest list includes names of controversial Reno Omokiri, Femi Fani-Kayode and former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that President Tinubu, in two separate letters to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, requested expeditious consideration and confirmation of 15 career ambassadors and 17 non-career ambassadors.
The statement titled, “Tinubu nominates 32 additional ambassadors,” revealed that the list includes four women amongst the career ambassadors and six women amongst the non-career ambassadors.
Notable non-career ambassador-designates include Abia’s Ogbonnaya Kalu; former presidential aide, Reno Omokri (Delta); former INEC Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu; former Ekiti First Lady, Erelu Adebayo; and former Enugu Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Other nominees are: Tasiu Musa Maigari, former Speaker of the Katsina House of Assembly; Yakubu N. Gambo, a former Plateau State Commissioner and ex-Deputy Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission; Professor Nora Ladi Daduut, former Senator from Plateau; Otunba Femi Pedro, former Deputy Governor of Lagos State; Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister from Osun State; and Nkechi Ufochukwu from Anambra State.
The list also features former Oyo State First Lady, Fatima Florence Ajimobi; former Lagos Commissioner, Lola Akande; former Adamawa Senator, Grace Bent; former Abia Governor, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu; Senator Jimoh Ibrahim from Ondo State; and former Nigerian Ambassador to the Holy See, Paul Oga Adikwu from Benue State.
Career ambassador and high commissioner-designates include: Enebechi Monica Okwuchukwu (Abia), Yakubu Nyaku Danladi (Taraba), Miamuna Ibrahim Besto (Adamawa), Musa Musa Abubakar (Kebbi), Syndoph Paebi Endoni (Bayelsa), Chima Geoffrey Lioma David (Ebonyi), and Mopelola Adeola-Ibrahim (Ogun).
Additional career nominees are Abimbola Samuel Reuben (Ondo), Yvonne Ehinosen Odumah (Edo), Hamza Mohammed Salau (Niger), Ambassador Shehu Barde (Katsina), Ambassador Ahmed Mohammed Monguno (Borno), Ambassador Muhammad Saidu Dahiru (Kaduna), Ambassador Olatunji Ahmed Sulu Gambari (Kwara), and Ambassador Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun).
According to Onanuga’s statement, the nominees are earmarked for posting to countries with strategic bilateral relations with Nigeria, like China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, and Kenya, as well as Permanent Missions to the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union.
“All the nominees will know their diplomatic assignments after their confirmation by the Senate,” the statement indicated.
Last week, President Tinubu had forwarded three ambassadorial nominees for screening which were: Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun). The trio are being considered for postings to the United Kingdom, United States, or France following confirmation.
Onanuga hinted that more ambassadorial nominees would be announced in due course, suggesting the administration is adopting a phased approach to filling diplomatic positions across countries of significance to Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives.
