President Bola Tinubu on Thursday sent a fresh batch of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation.
The request came just 24 hours after the upper house began vetting a previous set of three ambassadorial nominations.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the president’s letter in plenary, saying Tinubu asked lawmakers to give the nominations immediate consideration.
Tinubu requested that the Senate “consider and confirm expeditiously” 15 career ambassadors and 17 non-career ambassadors.
“I am pleased to present for confirmation the list of the 32 ambassadorial nominees for the positions of career ambassadors, non-career ambassadors, and high commissioners,” the letter partly stated.
The most recent list includes four women among the professional nominees and six women on the non-career list, demonstrating the administration’s progressive shift toward gender parity in foreign posts.
Reno Omokri, former presidential aide; Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, former Lagos deputy governor; Otunba Femi Pedro, former Aviation Minister; Chief Femi Fani-Kayode; ex-Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim are among the 17 non-career nominees.
NON-CAREER NOMINEES
1. Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia)
2. Reno Omokri (Delta)
3. Prof. Mahmood Yakubu (Bauchi)
4. Erelu Bisi Angela Adebayo (Ekiti)
5. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu)
6. Tasiu Musa Maigari (Katsina)
7. Yakubu N. Gambo (Plateau)
8. Prof. Nora Ladi Daduut (Plateau)
9. Otunba Femi Pedro (Lagos)
10. Chief Femi Fani-Kayode (Osun)
11. Barr. Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu (Anambra)
12. Fatima Florence Ajimobi (Oyo)
13. Lola Akande (Lagos)
2. Yakubu Nyaku Danladi (Taraba)
3. Miamuna Ibrahim Besto (Adamawa)
4. Musa Musa Abubakar (Kebbi)
5. Syndoph Paebi Endoni (Bayelsa)
6. Chima Geoffrey Lioma David (Ebonyi)
7. Mopelola Adeola-Ibrahim (Ogun)
8. Abimbola Samuel Reuben (Ondo)
9. Yvonne Ehinosen Odumah (Edo)
10. Hamza Mohammed Salau (Niger)
11. Ambassador Shehu Barde (Katsina)
12. Ambassador Ahmed Mohammed Monguno (Borno)
13. Ambassador Muhammad Saidu Dahiru (Kaduna)
14. Ambassador Olatunji Ahmed Sulu Gambari (Kwara)
15. Ambassador Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun)
After introducing the nominations, Akpabio referred the list to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs for screening, instructing it to provide its findings within one week.
“The committee is to report back to us in one week,” he told us.
On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs began examining an initial set of three ambassadorial nominees provided by Tinubu.
In a letter delivered by Akpabio last week, the president urged the confirmation of Kayode Are (Ogun), Aminu Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Ayodele Oke (Oyo).
The early release of the first three names, prior to the bigger batch announced on Thursday, was interpreted as part of the administration’s gradual effort to fill critical diplomatic jobs.
Senator Sani Bello, former governor of Niger State, chaired the committee that heard the nominees. According to Bello, Ayodele Oke utilized the session to address and clarify earlier claims made against him.
The committee’s report on the screening of the three nominees is scheduled to be delivered to the entire Senate for consideration and probable confirmation in the coming days, as lawmakers begin working on the newly submitted list.
![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")