Tinubu nominates Reno Omokri, Femi Fani-Kayode, Mahmud Yakubu, 29 others as ambassadors

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sent a new list of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation, expanding his ongoing diplomatic reshuffle and injecting high-profile political figures into Nigeria’s foreign service.

The latest batch, comprising 15 career diplomats and 17 non-career nominees, was transmitted in two separate letters to Senate President Godswill Akpabio. It arrives barely a week after the President forwarded an initial list of three nominees.

A statement issued on Saturday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, confirmed the development, noting that the fresh list contains a mix of technocrats, former public office holders, and political heavyweights. The list also features four women among the career nominees and six among the non-career nominees.

Notable names on the non-career list include former INEC chairman, Mahmud Yakubu; controversial ex-presidential aide Reno Omokri (Delta); former Enugu State governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; former Ekiti First Lady Erelu Bisi Fayemi; former Lagos deputy governor Otunba Femi Pedro; and former aviation minister Femi Fani-Kayode.

Others nominated as non-career envoys are:

Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia); Tasiu Musa Maigari, former Speaker of Katsina State House of Assembly; Yakubu N. Gambo, former Plateau commissioner; Prof. Nora Ladi Daduut, former senator from Plateau; Nkechi Ufochukwu (Anambra); former Oyo First Lady Florence Ajimobi; former Lagos commissioner Lola Akande; former Senator Grace Bent (Adamawa); former Abia governor Okezie Ikpeazu; and businessman and senator Jimoh Ibrahim (Ondo). Also on the list is Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu, Nigeria’s former envoy to the Holy See.

The 15 career ambassadors and high commissioner-designates 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); Ambassador Shehu Barde (Katsina); Ambassador Ahmed Mohammed Monguno (Borno); Ambassador Muhammad Saidu Dahiru (Kaduna); Ambassador Olatunji Ahmed Sulu Gambari (Kwara); and Ambassador Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun).

According to Onanuga, the nominees, once confirmed by the Senate, will be posted to countries with which Nigeria maintains strong diplomatic and strategic relations, including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, and Kenya. Others will be deployed to multilateral missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union.

The President had earlier sent three nominees last week: Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo); Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa); and Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun), who are expected to fill ambassadorial slots in the United Kingdom, United States, or France.

Onanuga also disclosed that additional ambassadorial nominations will be announced in the coming weeks.