President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded a second batch of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, just days after submitting an initial list of three nominees.
In two separate letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu requested the swift confirmation of 15 career ambassadors and 17 non-career ambassadors. The list includes four women among the career nominees and six among the non-career nominees.
Prominent figures on the non-career list include former presidential aide Reno Omokri (Delta), former INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, former Ekiti First Lady Erelu Angela Adebayo, former Enugu Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and former Lagos Deputy Governor Otunba Femi Pedro. Also nominated are former aviation minister Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, former Oyo First Lady Fatima Florence Ajimobi, former Lagos commissioner Lola Akande, former Abia governor Victor Okezie Ikpeazu, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, and former envoy to the Holy See, Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu.
The career ambassadorial nominees 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), Mopelola Adeola-Ibrahim (Ogun), and Abimbola Samuel Reuben (Ondo). Others are 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 (Kwara), and Ambassador Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun).
The nominees are expected to be deployed to countries with which Nigeria maintains strong strategic and economic ties, including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, as well as multilateral missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union. Their specific postings will be assigned after Senate confirmation.
President Tinubu had earlier nominated Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun), who are being considered for postings to the UK, USA, or France.
According to Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, additional nominees will be announced in due course.
