THE Senate has confirmed all 64 nominees for career and non-career ambassadorial positions following consideration of a report by the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
News Point Nigeria reports that the confirmation came after the committee, chaired by Senator Sani Bello, presented its report, after which the recommendations were adopted.
However, during the session, Senator Sahabi Yau raised an objection, drawing attention to the absence of any nominee from Zamfara State on the list.
He urged that the President be notified of the omission.
In response, the Senate President acknowledged the concern, explaining that the current list was not exhaustive.
He assured lawmakers that he would raise the matter with the President. He further affirms that additional ambassadorial nominations are expected and that Zamfara State would not be excluded.
President Bola Tinubu had on December 4 forwarded to the Senate a request for the confirmation of 65 ambassadorial nominees, comprising 34 career ambassadors and 31 non-career ambassadors and high commissioners.
The letter conveying the request was read on the floor of the Senate today by the President of the Senate.
The list of non-career nominees features several prominent political figures, including former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu; former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode; former Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu; and a former presidential aide, Reno Omokri.
Others are Senator Ita Enang, a former Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Chioma Ohakim; Bello Danbazau; Vice Admiral Ibok Ete (retd.) and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, among others.
The lists were referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs to conduct the screening process and report back to the upper chamber.
The list of 65 nominees raised the total number of ambassadorial candidates before the Senate to 68, as three nominees, Kayode Are, Aminu Dalhatu, and Ayodele Oke had already been screened and confirmed by the Senate.
The President’s nominations attracted reactions from different quarters, with many faulting the inclusion of the former INEC chairman.
A former permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joe Keshi, questioned the character of some of the nominees, who he claimed should have no business being in the diplomatic service “by any standard”.
During an interview on Channles Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday monitored by News Point Nigeria, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, faulted the lawmakers’ “bow and go” approach in the screening of the recently-nominated envoys.
But the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Foreign Affairs and Protocol, Ademola Oshodi, described the ambassadorial nominees as the best for Tinubu’s administration.
“This is the best the President has seen for the interests of his administration and for Nigeria. I can tell you that whether you accept it or anybody else accepts it, it is his discretion.
“And we’ll see at the end of the day how much they achieve their goal. And that’s what the ultimate goal is entirely,” he said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.