President Bola Tinubu has forwarded a fresh list of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, just days after sending an initial batch of three candidates.
The latest list features several prominent figures, including former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu; former presidential aide Reno Omokri (Delta); and former Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu, in two separate letters to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, requested the swift confirmation of 15 career diplomats and 17 non-career nominees.
Onanuga, in the statement titled “Tinubu Nominates 32 Additional Ambassadors”, highlighted that the list includes four women among the career nominees and six women among the non-career nominees.
Those listed as non-career ambassador-designates include Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia), Reno Omokri (Delta), former INEC Chairman Mahmud Yakubu, former Ekiti First Lady Erelu Adebayo, and former Enugu Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Others are former Katsina House of Assembly Speaker Tasiu Musa Maigari; former Plateau Commissioner Yakubu N. Gambo; and ex–Deputy Executive Secretary of UBEC. Also named are former Plateau senator Prof. Nora Ladi Daduut; ex-Lagos Deputy Governor Otunba Femi Pedro; former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode (Osun); and Nkechi Ufochukwu (Anambra).
The list further includes former Oyo First Lady Fatima Florence Ajimobi; former Lagos Commissioner Lola Akande; former Adamawa Senator Grace Bent; ex-Abia Governor Victor Okezie Ikpeazu; Ondo Senator Jimoh Ibrahim; and former Ambassador to the Holy See, Paul Oga Adikwu (Benue).
Career ambassador and high commissioner 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), and Mopelola Adeola-Ibrahim (Ogun).
Others are Abimbola Samuel Reuben (Ondo), 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).
According to the Presidency, the nominees will be deployed to countries with which Nigeria has strong bilateral ties, such as China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, and Kenya, as well as multilateral missions like the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union. Their specific postings will be announced after Senate confirmation.
Last week, Tinubu transmitted three names—Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun). They are being considered for postings to the United States, the United Kingdom, or France.
Onanuga added that more ambassadorial nominations will be released in due course. Saturday’s announcement aligns with earlier reports that the appointments will be rolled out in phases, prioritizing nations critical to Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives.
