Tinubu sends 32 ambassadorial nominees to Senate, including Ugwuanyi, Yakubu, Fani-Kayode, Omokri
President Bola Tinubu has forwarded a fresh list of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation, marking one of the most extensive rounds of diplomatic appointments under his administration.
Among those selected are several high-profile political figures and former public office holders, including former Enugu State governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu; former aviation minister Femi Fani-Kayode; and ex-presidential aide and commentator Reno Omokri.
Also named were former Abia State governor Okezie Ikpeazu and former Lagos State deputy governor Femi Pedro.
Businessman and Ondo senator Jimoh Ibrahim, former Ekiti First Lady, Erelu Angela Adebayo, and former Adamawa lawmaker Grace Bent were similarly listed.
According to presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, the nominees were presented to Senate President Godswill Akpabio in two separate letters.
The correspondence requested “swift consideration and confirmation” of 15 career diplomats and 17 non-career nominees.
A review of the list shows that four women were put forward as career ambassadors, while six others featured among the non-career nominees.
The non-career selections include Ogbonnaya Kalu from Abia; former Katsina House of Assembly Speaker Tasiu Musa Maigari; former Plateau commissioner and one-time UBEC deputy executive secretary Yakubu N. Gambo; and former Plateau senator Nora Ladi Daduut.
Other names in this category are Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu from Anambra; former Oyo First Lady Florence Ajimobi; ex-Lagos commissioner Lola Akande; and Paul Oga Adikwu, who previously served as Nigeria’s envoy to the Holy See.
Tinubu also nominated several serving foreign service officers as career ambassadors and high commissioners.
They 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).
Others 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).
Onanuga explained that the diplomats are expected to take up postings in countries with significant strategic ties to Nigeria including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, and Kenya as well as in key multilateral missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union.
Their specific assignments would be confirmed after Senate approval.
The transmission of this extensive list comes only days after the President forwarded an earlier batch of three ambassadorial nominees: Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun).
That trio, according to the presidency, is being considered for postings to major diplomatic capitals such as the United Kingdom, the United States, or France.
