President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has transmitted a fresh list of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation, expanding on the first batch of three names he forwarded earlier in the week.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the nominations were conveyed in two separate letters to Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Tinubu urged the Senate to give expedited consideration to the 15 career diplomats and 17 non-career nominees.
The new list includes 10 women—four career and six non-career nominees.
Prominent figures among the non-career nominees include former presidential aide Reno Omokri (Delta); former INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu; former Ekiti First Lady, Erelu Angela Adebayo; former Enugu State governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; and Barrister Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia). Others listed are former Katsina House of Assembly Speaker, Tasiu Musa Maigari; former Plateau commissioner, Yakubu N. Gambo; and a former deputy executive secretary of UBEC.
Also nominated are former Plateau senator, Prof. Nora Ladi Daduut; former Lagos deputy governor, Otunba Femi Pedro; ex-aviation minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode; and Barrister Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu (Anambra). Additional nominees include former Oyo First Lady, Florence Ajimobi; former Lagos commissioner, Lola Akande; ex-Adamawa senator, Grace Bent; former Abia governor, Okezie Ikpeazu; Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (Ondo); and former ambassador to the Holy See, Paul Oga Adikwu (Benue).
The career nominees 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), Mopelola Adeola-Ibrahim (Ogun), 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 the Presidency, the nominees will be deployed to countries with strategic bilateral importance to Nigeria, including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, and Kenya. Others will serve in multilateral missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union. Specific postings will be determined after Senate confirmation.
The latest submission follows last week’s transmission of the initial three nominees—Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun)—who are expected to be assigned to major diplomatic posts such as the United Kingdom, United States, or France.
President Tinubu stated that additional nominations will be forwarded in due course.
