Names of 32 ambassadorial nominees have been sent by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Senate for confirmation, days after he sent the first batch of three names.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on
Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday, November 29.
Fifteen of the nominees are career ambassadors while the remaining 17 are non-career ambassadors.
In two separate letters to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu asked the Senate to consider and confirm the nominations expeditiously.
Among the nominees are four women on the career ambassadors’ list and six women on the non-career ambassadors’ list.
The non-career ambassador designates include Barrister Ogbonnaya Kalu from Abia; a former presidential aide, Reno Omokri (Delta); former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmud Yakubu; former Ekiti first lady, Erelu Angela Adebayo; and former Enugu governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Others are the former speaker of the Katsina House of Assembly, Tasiu Musa Maigari; and a former Commissioner in Plateau State and former deputy executive secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Yakubu N. Gambo.
Professor Nora Ladi Daduut, a former senator from Plateau; Otunba Femi Pedro, a former deputy governor of Lagos State; Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, a former aviation minister from Osun State; and Barrister Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu from Anambra State are also on the nomination list.
The remaining nominees are former First Lady of Oyo, Fatima Florence Ajimobi; former Lagos Commissioner, Lola Akande; former Adamawa Senator, Grace Bent; former governor of Abia, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu; Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, businessman, lawyer and Senator from Ondo State; and the former ambassador of Nigeria to the Holy See, Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu from Benue State.
Among the nominees for career ambassador and high commissioner-designates 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) and Mopelola Adeola-Ibrahim (Ogun).
The other nominees 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 (Kawara) and Ambassador Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun).
“The new nominees are expected to be posted to countries with which Nigeria maintains excellent and strategic bilateral relations, such as China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, and to Permanent Missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union.
“All the nominees will know their diplomatic assignments after their confirmation by the Senate,” the statement read.
It will be noted that President Tinubu had, last week, sent three ambassadorial nominees for screening and confirmation.
The nominees were Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun).
The three will be posted to the UK, USA, or France after their confirmation.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said more nominees for ambassadorial positions will be announced soon.
