PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has nominated immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmud Yakubu; former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode; former presidential aide, Reno Omokri; and 28 others as Nigeria’s ambassadors.
A statement by the president’s media aide, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday , November 29, noted that the president forwarded a total of 32 names to the Senate for confirmation.
In two separate letters addressed to the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the president requested expeditious confirmation of 15 career ambassadors and 17 non-career ambassadors.
According to the list, four women are among the career nominees, while six women feature on the non-career list.
Among the non-career nominees are former Ekiti First Lady, Erelu Angela Adebayo; former Enugu Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; former Katsina House of Assembly Speaker, Tasiu Musa Maigari; and Ogbonnaya Kalu, a lawyer from Abia State.
Others are former Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Deputy Executive Secretary, Yakubu Gambo; former Plateau State senator, Nora Ladi Daduut; a professor; former Lagos Deputy Governor, Otunba Femi Pedro; former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode; and Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu, a lawyer from Anambra State.
Also nominated are former Oyo First Lady, Fatima Florence Ajimobi; former Lagos Commissioner, Lola Akande; former Adamawa State senator, Grace Bent; former Abia Governor, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu; the senator representing Ondo South in the current National Assembly, Jimoh Ibrahim; and former Ambassador to the Holy See, Paul Oga Adikwu, from Benue State.
“Among the nominees for career ambassador and high commissioner-designates are: 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).
“The other 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 (Kawara) and Ambassador Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun),” the statement added.
Upon confirmation by the Senate, the new ambassadors are expected to be posted to countries where Nigeria maintains strategic partnerships, including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, and Kenya, as well as to multilateral missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union.
Recall that the president had on November 26 sent a list of ambassadors containing three names to the Senate.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced this in a letter from the president at the Senate plenary on Wednesday, November 26.
Since Tinubu recalled all ambassadors appointed by his predecessor, the late President Muhammadu Buhari, on September 2, 2023, he has yet to replace them.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M