Tinubu Sends 32 New Ambassadorial Nominees to Senate for Confirmation

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the names of 32 additional ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, just days after submitting an initial batch of three nominees. The development was announced in a statement signed yesterday by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga.

In two separate letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu requested the swift confirmation of 15 career ambassador-designates and 17 non-career nominees. The list includes four women among the career nominees and six among the non-career nominees.

Prominent names on the non-career list include former presidential aide Reno Omokri (Delta), former INEC chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, former Enugu State governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, former Ekiti First Lady Erelu Angela Adebayo, former Lagos Deputy Governor Otunba Femi Pedro, former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode, and former Oyo First Lady Fatima Florence Ajimobi.

Others are Barr. Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia), Tasiu Musa Maigari (former Katsina Assembly Speaker), Yakubu N. Gambo (Plateau), Prof. Nora Ladi Daduut (Plateau), Lola Akande (former Lagos commissioner), Grace Bent (former Adamawa senator), Victor Okezie Ikpeazu (former Abia governor), Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (Ondo South), and Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu (Benue).

Career ambassador nominees include Enebechi Monica Okwuchukwu (Abia), Yakubu Nyaku Danladi (Taraba), Maimuna Ibrahim Besto (Adamawa), Musa Musa Abubakar (Kebbi), Syndoph Paebi Endoni (Bayelsa), Chima Geoffrey Lioma David (Ebonyi), Mopelola Adeola-Ibrahim (Ogun), Abimbola Samuel Reuben (Ondo), Yvonne Ehinosen Odumah (Edo), and Hamza Mohammed Salau (Niger).

Also listed are 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 posted to countries with strong strategic ties to Nigeria including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, and Kenya as well as to multilateral missions such as the UN, UNESCO, and the African Union once Senate confirmation is concluded.

Last week, Tinubu had sent three earlier nominees 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 upon confirmation.