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.
