Tinubu Sends 32 Additional Ambassadorial Nominees To Senate for Confirmation
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded a fresh list of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation, expanding the list of envoys expected to represent Nigeria across strategic global missions.
The new list, transmitted in two separate letters to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, contains 15 career ambassadorsand 17 non-career ambassadors, coming just days after the President submitted an initial batch of three nominees. Of the new nominees, four women appear on the career list, while six women feature on the non-career list.
Notable names among the non-career nominees include former presidential aide Barrister Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia); former presidential spokesman Reno Omokri (Delta); former INEC chairman Professor Mahmud Yakubu; former First Lady of Ekiti State Erelu Angela Adebayo; and former Governor of Enugu State Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Others are former Katsina Assembly Speaker Tasiu Musa Maigari; former Plateau commissioner Yakubu N. Gambo; former UBEC deputy executive secretary Tahir Gidado; former Plateau senator Professor Nora Ladi Daduut; ex-Lagos deputy governor Otunba Femi Pedro; former aviation minister Chief Femi Fani-Kayode; and Barrister Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu from Anambra State.
Also nominated are former Oyo First Lady Fatima Florence Ajimobi, former Lagos commissioner Lola Akande, ex-Adamawa senator Grace Bent, former Abia governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Ondo senator and businessman Jimoh Ibrahim, and former envoy to the Holy See Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu.
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), 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 Mohammad 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 key strategic partnerships, including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, and Kenya, as well as multilateral missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union. Final postings will be determined after Senate confirmation.
Last week, the President nominated three ambassadors—Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun)—likely to be posted to the UK, USA, or France.
President Tinubu noted that more ambassadorial nominations will be announced soon.
