President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has submitted a fresh list of non-career ambassadorial nominees to the Nigerian Senate, adding four high-profile figures whose names were not included in the earlier batches released by the presidency.
Okay News reports that the new nominations were formally announced during Thursday’s plenary session, where Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the president’s correspondence on the Senate floor.
Among the newly nominated envoys is Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, the immediate past sole administrator of Rivers State and a former Chief of Naval Staff, who is now set to join Nigeria’s diplomatic corps.
Also nominated are Ita Enang, the former senator and ex-presidential aide; Chioma Ohakim, former First Lady of Imo State; and Abdulrahman Dambazau, former Minister of Interior and a retired Chief of Army Staff.
Tinubu, in his letter to the Senate, urged lawmakers to speedily consider and confirm the nominees to allow the Federal Government address sensitive diplomatic vacancies across key partner nations. The Senate President subsequently referred the names to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, directing the panel to complete its screening within one week and report back to the full chamber.
The latest additions come days after the president nominated another set of non-career diplomats, a list that included Reno Omokri, former presidential aide; Femi Fani-Kayode, former aviation minister; and Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
