LESS than three weeks after News Point Nigeria had reported that President Bola Tinubu is finally moving to fill diplomatic leadership positions after operating without ambassadors for a year and a half, the Federal Government is vetting candidates to fill the roles in its 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 global consulates.
Recall in March, News Point Nigeria reported that, according to a credible source in the Villa, the government has concluded screening of potential candidates and final security checks will begin soon.
“The issue is being resolved,” the source said, indicating that the long diplomatic vacuum may be coming to an end very soon.
“Nigeria’s security services have been directed to conduct final background checks on potential appointees and share their findings with relevant agencies in the presidency and legislature”, the source told this newspaper in March.
Last night, impeccable sources familiar with the developments revealed that a former Minister of Aviation under the Obasanjo administration, Femi Fani-Kayode, and a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro, are among the nominees.
This newspaper also gathered that the final vetting is not conducted centrally, as nominees are being asked to report to the DSS offices nearest to them.
Presidency officials confirmed to our correspondent that several candidates had been contacted to provide personal education and work history.
“They’re already doing security checks with DSS. When they have cleared security checks, we will release the list.
“Only those who have been cleared are announced. The process is ongoing. I know that we should have a list before the end of this month (April),” one official revealed, preferring to remain anonymous as he was not authorised to speak to the press.
A second source said, “The vetting is not done centrally. It is based on the location of the nominees. Nominees have been reached to provide personal history and information such as where they attended school, what appointments they have held, and the like. So, it is by location.”
Senior Presidency and foreign service officers say although the complete list of nominees is highly classified, some prominent and controversial figures are being screened.
One official said, “They’re going to announce the appointments soon. They are being screened as we speak. The names of the nominees are highly classified for now because not every one of the names listed will eventually make it through.
“FFK [Femi Fani-Kayode] is on the list. These are some of the controversial names that have been put forward as well. Then there is Fola Adeola [founder of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc] and Femi Pedro too. They’re moving on with the process more quickly this time.”
Giving reasons for the slow process, another official explained that the final vetting was necessary to avoid complications that might hurt the country’s standing on the global scene.
“The nominees are being vetted, and final background checks are being conducted on them. It is usually done so that the nominees will not have any security issues and their deployment will not have a negative impact on the country,” the official said.
There was also a claim that Reno Omokri, a former aide of former President Goodluck Jonathan, was on the list.
But a credible source in the Presidency denied it.
“Reno is not on the list. But FFK is there,” the source said.
The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, who earlier spoke about the delays, said nominations for ambassadorial roles must be thorough before a final list is transmitted to the National Assembly.
“Don’t forget that the ambassadorial list has two components. There are career ambassadors and political ambassadors. The foreign affairs list and the consolidated list will still go through certain processes before they are released,” he explained.
Two of the nominees, when contacted by this newspaper, declined comment.
They also did not confirm or deny the report.
See below link for previous story:
Tinubu Set To Name New Ambassadors After 18-Month Vacancy
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