President Bola Tinubu has submitted an additional 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, expanding on the initial three-member list he sent last week.
In two letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu requested the speedy confirmation of 15 career diplomats and 17 non-career nominees. The latest list includes 10 women, representing both categories.
Among the high-profile non-career nominees are:
Reno Omokri (Delta), former presidential aide
Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, immediate past INEC Chairman
Erelu Angela Adebayo, former Ekiti First Lady
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, former Enugu State Governor
Barr. Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia)
Otunba Femi Pedro, former Lagos Deputy Governor
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister
Prof. Nora Ladi Daduut, former Plateau senator
Florence Ajimobi, former Oyo First Lady
Senator Grace Bent, former Adamawa lawmaker
Okezie Ikpeazu, former Abia Governor
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (Ondo)
Others include former Katsina Speaker Tasiu Musa Maigari, former Plateau commissioner Yakubu N. Gambo, former UBEC deputy executive secretary Yakubu K. Musa, and ex-Vatican envoy Amb. Paul Oga Adikwu.
The career nominees are 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), Abimbola Samuel Reuben (Ondo), Yvonne Ehinosen Odumah (Edo), Hamza Mohammed Salau (Niger), Amb. Shehu Barde (Katsina), Amb. Ahmed Mohammed Monguno (Borno), Amb. Muhammad Saidu Dahiru (Kaduna), Amb. Olatunji Ahmed Sulu Gambari (Kwara), and Amb. Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun).
The nominees are expected to be deployed to Nigeria’s key foreign missions in China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, and multilateral postings at the UN, UNESCO, and the African Union, once confirmed by the Senate.
The President’s earlier nominees—Ambassador Ayodele Oke, Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu, and retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are—are being considered for postings to the UK, USA, or France.
Tinubu said more ambassadorial nominations will be unveiled in due course.