President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded 32 new ambassadorial nominees to the Nigerian Senate for confirmation, expanding on the initial list of three envoys submitted earlier in the week.
Okay News reports that the nominations include 15 career diplomats and 17 non-career nominees, reflecting a continued overhaul of Nigeria’s diplomatic corps.
In two separate letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu urged lawmakers to give the list “expeditious consideration,” noting the strategic importance of the appointments.
The new nominees include ten women, with four on the career list and six among the non-career nominees.
In a statement on Saturday, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, among the non-career nominees are several prominent figures, including:
- Barrister Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia), former presidential aide
- Reno Omokri (Delta), former presidential spokesperson
- Mahmud Yakubu, immediate past INEC chairman
- Erelu Angela Adebayo, former Ekiti First Lady
- Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, former Governor of Enugu State
- Tasiu Musa Maigari, former Speaker, Katsina State House of Assembly
- Yakubu N. Gambo, former Plateau Commissioner and ex-UBEC deputy executive secretary
- Professor Nora Ladi Daduut, former senator from Plateau
- Otunba Femi Pedro, former Lagos State deputy governor
- Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, former Minister of Aviation
- Barrister Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu (Anambra)
- Fatima Florence Ajimobi, former First Lady of Oyo
- Lola Akande, former Lagos Commissioner
- Senator Grace Bent (Adamawa)
- Victor Okezie Ikpeazu, former Governor of Abia
- Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (Ondo)
- Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu, former envoy to the Holy See
The career ambassador nominees 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), 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 envoys will be deployed to countries with which Nigeria maintains “excellent and strategic bilateral relations,” including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, as well as multilateral missions such as the UN, UNESCO, and the African Union. Specific postings will be assigned after Senate confirmation.
The new list follows last week’s submission of three ambassadorial nominees — Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun) — who are expected to be considered for postings to the United Kingdom, United States, or France.
According to the statement, President Tinubu “will announce more nominees for ambassadorial positions soon.”
