President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded a new list of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate, expanding the earlier batch of three names he submitted last week.
In two separate letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu requested the “expeditious consideration and confirmation” of the nominees, who comprise 15 career diplomats and 17 non-career nominees.
According to the list, four women are nominated as career ambassadors, while six women appear among the non-career nominees.
Prominent figures among the non-career nominees include former presidential aide Reno Omokri (Delta State), former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, former Ekiti First Lady, Erelu Angela Adebayo, and former Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. Also listed are former Lagos Deputy Governor, Otunba Femi Pedro; former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode; Barrister Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia), and former Oyo First Lady, Fatima Florence Ajimobi.
Others on the list include former Katsina House of Assembly Speaker, Tasiu Musa Maigari; Plateau politician, Yakubu N. Gambo; former UBEC deputy executive secretary; former Plateau Senator, Prof. Nora Ladi Daduut; former Lagos Commissioner, Lola Akande; former Adamawa Senator, Grace Bent; former Abia Governor, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu; Ondo Senator and businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim; and Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu, Nigeria’s former envoy to the Holy See.
Career diplomats on the list 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).
The nominees, once confirmed, are expected to be deployed to countries and international missions where Nigeria maintains significant diplomatic interests, including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, as well as multilateral bodies such as the United Nations, UNESCO and the African Union.
Last week, the President forwarded the names of three nominees — Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun). They are being considered for postings to top diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom, the United States, or France.
Confirming the development, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said more nominations are underway.
“Mr President is committed to strengthening Nigeria’s diplomatic representation across the world,” Onanuga stated. “Additional names will be transmitted to the Senate in due course.”
