President Bola Tinubu has submitted a fresh list of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate, coming just days after sending an initial batch of three names for confirmation.
The new list includes several notable figures such as former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmud Yakubu; former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri (Delta); and former Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
According to a statement released on Saturday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President forwarded the names in “two separate letters to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio,” requesting lawmakers to “consider and confirm expeditiously 15 nominees as career ambassadors and 17 nominees as non-career ambassadors.”
Onanuga’s statement, titled ‘Tinubu nominates 32 additional ambassadors,’ highlighted gender representation across both categories, noting that “there are four women on the career ambassadors’ list and six women on the non-career ambassadors’ list.”
Among the non-career nominees are Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia); Reno Omokri (Delta); former INEC Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu; former Ekiti First Lady, Erelu Adebayo; and former Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. Also listed are former Speaker of the Katsina House of Assembly, Tasiu Musa Maigari; former Plateau Commissioner, Yakubu N. Gambo; and ex-UBEC Deputy Executive Secretary, among others.
Others include former Plateau Senator, Professor Nora Ladi Daduut; former Lagos Deputy Governor, Otunba Femi Pedro; former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode; and Nkechi Ufochukwu from Anambra.
The list further features former Oyo First Lady, Fatima Florence Ajimobi; former Lagos Commissioner, Lola Akande; former Adamawa Senator, Grace Bent; former Abia Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu; Senator Jimoh Ibrahim from Ondo; and former ambassador to the Holy See, Paul Oga Adikwu.
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For the career ambassador and high commissioner designates, the 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), 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).
Onanuga added that the nominees are expected to be deployed to countries where Nigeria maintains strong bilateral relations, including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, and Kenya, as well as to key multilateral missions like the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union.
He emphasized that “all the nominees will know their diplomatic assignments after their confirmation by the Senate.”
This development comes after Tinubu recently forwarded three other ambassadorial nominees — Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun) — who are expected to be posted to the UK, USA, or France following their confirmation.
Onanuga also hinted that “more nominees for ambassadorial positions will be announced soon.”
The staggered release of ambassadorial lists aligns with earlier reports indicating that postings will be prioritized based on Nigeria’s strategic foreign policy interests.