President Bola Tinubu has sent the names of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, days after he sent the first batch of three names.
In two separate letters to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu asked the Senate to consider and confirm expeditiously 15 nominees as career ambassadors and 17 nominees as non-career ambassadors.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga in a statement issued Saturday said there are four women on the career ambassadors’ list and six women on the non-career ambassadors’ list.
He added that among the non-career ambassador designates are Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia), a former presidential aide, Reno Omokri (Delta), former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmud Yakubu, former Ekiti first lady, Erelu Angela Adebayo, and former Enugu governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Others are: Tasiu Maigari, the former speaker of the Katsina House of Assembly, Yakubu Gambo, a former Commissioner in Plateau State and former deputy executive secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
Also included are: Prof. Nora Daduut, a former senator from Plateau; Otunba Femi Pedro, a former deputy governor of Lagos State; Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, a former aviation minister from Osun State; and Nkechi Ufochukwu from Anambra State are on the nomination list.
Similarly, former First Lady of Oyo, Florence Ajimobi, former Lagos Commissioner, Lola Akande, former Adamawa Senator, Grace Bent, former governor of Abia, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, businessman, lawyer and Senator from Ondo State, and the former ambassador of Nigeria to the Holy See, Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu from Benue State.
Among the nominees for career ambassador and high commissioner-designates are: Enebechi Okwuchukwu (Abia), Yakubu Danladi (Taraba), Miamuna Ibrahim Besto (Adamawa), Musa Abubakar (Kebbi), Syndoph Paebi Endoni (Bayelsa), ChimaDavid (Ebonyi) and Mopelola Adeola-Ibrahim (Ogun).
The other nominees are: Abimbola Reuben (Ondo), Yvonne Odumah (Edo), Hamza Salau (Niger), Amb. Shehu Barde (Katsina), Amb. Ahmed Monguno (Borno), Amb. Muhammad Dahiru (Kaduna), Amb. Olatunji Gambari (Kwara) and Amb. Wahab Akande (Osun).
Onanuga said the new nominees are expected to be posted to countries with which Nigeria maintains excellent and strategic bilateral relations, such as China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, and to Permanent Missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union.
He noted that all the nominees will know their diplomatic assignments after their confirmation by the Senate.
TheHintsNews reports that Tinubu last week sent three ambassadorial nominees for screening and confirmation.
The nominees were Amb. Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Amb. Amin Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Retired Col. Lateef Are (rtd) (Ogun).
All three are in the pot for posting to the UK, USA, or France after their confirmation.