The Senate is preparing to commence screening of 65 ambassadorial nominees submitted by President Bola Tinubu, even as Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South has raised objections to the list, citing breaches of the federal character principle.
The nominees, comprising 34 career ambassadors and high commissioners and 31 non-career nominees, were transmitted to the Senate last Thursday and read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The screening exercise has been referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, which has been given one week to report back.
“The committee is to report back to us in one week,” Akpabio said.
Ndume, a former Senate Leader and Chief Whip, argued that the distribution of nominees across states and geopolitical zones was uneven. He pointed out that while some states had three or four nominees, others had none.
He also drew attention to the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East state has seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively. North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominees, while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Ndume said.
He warned that such disparities could undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution, which provides for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust. I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Ndume added.
The list features notable career diplomats such as Ambassadors Sulu-Gambari Olatunji Ahmed from Kwara, Ahmed Mohammed Monguno from Borno, and Maimuna Ibrahim from Adamawa. Among the non-career nominees are former Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) from Cross River, ex-presidential aide Ita Enang from Akwa Ibom, and former Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.) from Kano.
Other prominent names include former presidential aide Reno Omokri, former INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, ex-Lagos deputy governor Otunba Femi Pedro, former Aviation Minister Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, former Enugu State governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim.
Senate insiders have indicated that the screening will be rigorous, with opposition senators expected to subject several nominees to probing questions. The exercise follows closely on the heels of the screening of three earlier nominees forwarded by the Presidency.
