The Senate confirmed Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina as a non-career ambassadorial nominee on Thursday, despite resistance from some politicians and recent civil society protests.
The confirmation came after the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by Senator Sani Bello (APC, Niger North), considered and adopted the report.
Senator Simon Lalong (APC, Plateau South), the committee’s vice-chairman, delivered the report and asked the Senate to support Fasina’s candidature for appointment as a non-career ambassador/high commissioner of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He said, “That the Senate do receive and consider the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs on the confirmation of the nomination of Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina for appointment as non-career ambassador/high commissioner of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The chamber’s deliberations on the report were mixed, with some senators opposing the nomination and others supporting it, notably Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central).
Senator Cyril Fasuyi (APC, Ekiti North), a Foreign Affairs Committee member who signed the report recommending Fasina’s confirmation, also objected during the plenary.
However, the committee noted that earlier complaints against the nominee had been probed by the appropriate authorities, including the Governing Council of the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti and the Nigeria Police Force.
The committee noted that the investigations did not substantiate the allegations.
“The accusation against Professor Fasina was investigated by competent authorities, including the University Governing Council and the Nigeria Police, which both found the allegation false,” the report stated.
Akpabio supported the committee’s conclusion, urging lawmakers to rely on confirmed reports rather than untested assertions.
“Honourable senators, we must take our assignments with respect and must not rely on hearsay,” he stated.
Fasina’s confirmation occurred a week after a coalition of civil society organisations demonstrated outside the National Assembly, urging the Senate to postpone consideration of his candidature.
The demonstrators urged lawmakers to postpone the confirmation, citing claims of sexual harassment, human rights abuses, and victimisation that they claimed were the subject of pending legal proceedings.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, legal practitioner Adeyemo Amira stated that the nominee had lawsuits pending before the National Industrial Court in Lagos and Abuja and requested the Senate to enable the courts to resolve the issues before proceeding with the confirmation.
President Bola Tinubu recently submitted a list of ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for consideration and confirmation as part of efforts to replace Nigeria’s diplomatic missions, many of which had been vacant for months.
