Wife of former Oyo State Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Florence Ajimobi, has been listed among President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s latest ambassadorial nominees.
She features in a new batch of 32 nominees—17 non-career and 15 career diplomats—announced over the weekend by Presidential Spokesman, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.
According to Onanuga, the President has forwarded the names to the Senate for confirmation, coming just days after an initial batch of three nominees was submitted.
In two separate letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu urged the Senate to “consider and confirm expeditiously” the 15 career ambassadorial nominees and 17 non-career nominees, the statement noted.
A breakdown of the list shows four women among the career nominees and six women among the non-career nominees.
Prominent figures on the non-career list include Barrister Ogbonnaya Kalu from Abia; former presidential aide Reno Omokri (Delta); former INEC Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu; former Ekiti First Lady, Erelu Angela Adebayo; and former Enugu Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Also named are former Katsina House of Assembly Speaker, Tasiu Musa Maigari; former Plateau Commissioner, Yakubu N. Gambo; and former UBEC Deputy Executive Secretary, Yakubu N. Gambo.
Other nominees include Professor Nora Ladi Daduut, a former Plateau senator; Otunba Femi Pedro, former Lagos deputy governor; former aviation minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode (Osun); and Barrister Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu of Anambra.
The list also features former Oyo First Lady, Fatima Florence Ajimobi; former Lagos Commissioner, Lola Akande; former Adamawa Senator, Grace Bent; former Abia Governor, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu; Ondo businessman and senator, Jimoh Ibrahim; and former Nigerian Ambassador to the Holy See, Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu (Benue).
The career ambassadorial 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).
The nominees are expected to receive postings to countries with which Nigeria maintains strong diplomatic relations, including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, and Kenya, as well as multilateral missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union. Their specific assignments will be confirmed after Senate approval.
Last week, President Tinubu submitted three ambassadorial nominees for screening: 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 Kingdom, the United States, or France.
President Tinubu has also indicated that additional ambassadorial nominations will be announced soon.
