iDeemlawfulPresident Bola Ahmed Tinubu has unveiled another list featuring 32 new ambassadorial nominees.
This was stated in a release issued on Sunday, November 29, 20205, by his Special Adviser on Information & Strategy.
He noted that the president forwarded the names of the 32 nominees to the Senate for approval, coming shortly after the first batch of three nominees was submitted.
In two different letters to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu requested quick confirmation of 15 nominees as career ambassadors and 17 others as non-career ambassadors.
The list includes four women among the career nominees and six women on the non-career nominees’ list.
Featured among the non-career ambassador nominees are Barrister Ogbonnaya Kalu from Abia, former presidential aide Reno Omokri (Delta), ex-INEC chairman Mahmud Yakubu, former Ekiti first lady Erelu Angela Adebayo, and former Enugu governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Others are Tasiu Musa Maigari, a former Katsina House of Assembly speaker; Yakubu N. Gambo, a former commissioner in Plateau State and one-time UBEC deputy executive secretary.
Also listed are Professor Nora Ladi Daduut, a former senator from Plateau; Otunba Femi Pedro, former Lagos deputy governor; Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, ex-minister of aviation from Osun State; and Barrister Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu of Anambra State.
Additional nominees include former Oyo First Lady Fatima Florence Ajimobi, ex-Lagos commissioner Lola Akande, former Adamawa senator Grace Bent, former Abia governor Victor Okezie Ikpeazu, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim of Ondo, businessman and lawyer, and former Nigerian ambassador to the Holy See, Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu from Benue State.
Career ambassador and high commissioner-designates 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).
Other career nominees listed 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 deployed to countries where Nigeria maintains key diplomatic and economic ties, including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, and to permanent missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union. Their specific postings will follow Senate confirmation.
Last week, Tinubu forwarded three ambassadorial nominees for vetting and confirmation. They are Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun). All three are being considered for assignments in the UK, USA, or France once confirmed.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu noted that additional ambassadorial nominees will be unveiled soon.
