Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani was among those screened by the Federal Government following the commencement of the screening process for candidates nominated for diplomatic roles in a bid to fill the vacant roles for its 76 embassies and 22 high commissions.
According to reports, nominees have been asked to report to the DSS offices nearest to them for security checks.
Some have reportedly been informed to provide personal education and work history.
It was gathered from a source that two former south-eastern governors, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu, have been screened for the role.
The source also disclosed that Sani, who recently joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and former presidential aide Reno Omokri are among the nominees who have also been screened.
The source also revealed that former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro, and former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, have already gone through the screening process and have been cleared for their prospective national assignments.
In September 2023, President Bola Tinubu recalled all Nigerian diplomats, both career and non-career.
Nearly two years after their recall, in March 2025, the presidency stated that their replacements would be named “very soon”.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
