President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the names of 32 new ambassadorial nominees to the Nigerian Senate for confirmation, just days after submitting an initial batch of three nominees.
The nominations include prominent figures such as former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Mahmud Yakubu, former presidential aide Reno Omokri (Delta), former Enugu Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and ex-Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President requested the Senate to consider 15 nominees as career ambassadors and 17 as non-career ambassadors, emphasizing speedy confirmation to strengthen Nigeria’s diplomatic representation.
The list reflects gender inclusivity, with four women on the career list and six women on the non-career list. Notable non-career nominees include:
Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia), former presidential aide
Mahmud Yakubu, former INEC chair
Erelu Angela Adebayo, former Ekiti First Lady
Tasiu Musa Maigari, ex-Speaker, Katsina House of Assembly
Yakubu N. Gambo, former Plateau Commissioner and UBEC Deputy Executive Secretary
Professor Nora Ladi Daduut, ex-Senator, Plateau
Otunba Femi Pedro, former Lagos Deputy Governor
Nkechi Ufochukwu (Anambra)
Fatima Florence Ajimobi, former First Lady of Oyo
Lola Akande, former Lagos Commissioner
Grace Bent, former Adamawa Senator
Victor Okezie Ikpeazu, former Governor of Abia
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, Ondo
Paul Oga Adikwu, ex-Ambassador to the Holy See
Career ambassador 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), Mopelola Adeola-Ibrahim (Ogun), Abimbola Samuel Reuben (Ondo), Yvonne Ehinosen Odumah (Edo), Hamza Mohammed Salau (Niger), Shehu Barde (Katsina), Ahmed Mohammed Monguno (Borno), Muhammad Saidu Dahiru (Kaduna), Olatunji Ahmed Sulu Gambari (Kwara), and Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun).
The new appointees are expected to be posted to countries with strategic bilateral relations, including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, UAE, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, and to international organisations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union. All postings will be assigned following Senate confirmation.
Earlier, President Tinubu submitted three ambassadorial nominees—Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun)—for posting to the UK, USA, or France. More nominations are expected to follow, reflecting Nigeria’s foreign policy priorities and international diplomacy goals.
