President Bola Tinubu has forwarded a second, expansive batch of ambassadorial nominees to the Senate, presenting 32 additional names for confirmation just days after submitting an initial list of three.
In two letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the President urged the Senate to expedite the screening and confirmation of 15 career diplomats and 17 non-career nominees, a development confirmed on Saturday in a statement by presidential aide Bayo Onanuga.
According to the Presidency, the new list includes prominent political figures and former officials such as former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, ex-Abia Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode, and former presidential aide Reno Omokri. Also listed are former INEC Chairman Mahmud Yakubu, former Ekiti First Lady Erelu Angela Adebayo, former Lagos Deputy Governor Femi Pedro, and former Oyo First Lady Florence Ajimobi.
Onanuga noted that the batch features four women among the career nominees and six among the non-career nominees.
Other non-career nominees include Barrister Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia), Tasiu Musa Maigari, ex-Speaker of the Katsina State House of Assembly; Yakubu N. Gambo, former UBEC deputy executive secretary; Professor Nora Ladi Daduut, former senator from Plateau; Barrister Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu (Anambra); former Lagos Commissioner Lola Akande; former Senator Grace Bent (Adamawa); Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (Ondo); and Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu (Benue), Nigeria’s former envoy to the Holy See.
Career ambassadorial nominees forwarded by the President 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), 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 Nigeria’s strategic diplomatic posts in countries such as China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, and to multilateral missions including the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union once confirmed by the Senate.
Tinubu had earlier submitted three ambassadorial nominees last week — Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun) — who are expected to take up postings in the UK, USA, or France.
The President is expected to announce more ambassadorial nominees in the coming days.
In 2023, the administration recalled all Nigerian envoys across 109 missions worldwide. The prolonged delay in appointing replacements has drawn scrutiny, particularly as reports emerged of diplomats struggling with unpaid rents, school fees, and basic welfare abroad.
Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar later attributed the delay to the financial and economic constraints facing the current administration.
The new list signals the most extensive effort so far by the Tinubu government to restore Nigeria’s full diplomatic presence worldwide.