CIVIL Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has called on the National Assembly, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Federal Government to immediately review and reject the nomination of Ambassador Ayodele Oke from Oyo State as a non-career ambassador.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had requested Senate confirmation of three non-career ambassadorial nominees: Kayode Are of Ogun State, Aminu Dalhatu of Jigawa State, and Ayodele Oke of Oyo State. The request follows nearly two years after the recall of all Nigerian ambassadors in September 2023.

But CISLAC expressed deep concern that Oke, who was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside his wife for serious corruption allegations, had been nominated for such a sensitive diplomatic position.

According to CISLAC, Oke, a former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), was declared wanted after failing to appear before the court to answer fraud charges. On February 7, 2019, Justice Chukwujeku Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos issued an arrest warrant for him and his wife following an application by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo.

The Executive Director of CISLAC and Head of Transparency International Nigeria, Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, described the nomination as troubling, embarrassing, and a severe dent in Nigeria’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and anti-corruption.

He stated that the nomination could undermine the work of anti-corruption agencies, saying: “When individuals under investigation are cleared for political appointments, it weakens the efforts of the EFCC, ICPC and other anti-corruption institutions. Government must not be seen to be undermining its own agencies, which work tirelessly to ensure that persons involved in corruption and unethical conduct are held accountable and are not rewarded with public office.”

He called on the National Assembly to rise to the occasion, saying: “We urge the Senate to demonstrate institutional integrity by rejecting this nomination. The DSS and other security agencies must clarify how an individual on a watchlist passed security vetting. Nigeria cannot afford to elevate persons with unresolved criminal allegations to sensitive diplomatic posts.”