Tinubu sends fresh ambassadorial list to senate, adds Ibas, Dambazau, Ita Enang, Ohakim

President Bola Tinubu has submitted another set of non-career ambassadorial nominees to the Senate, expanding his diplomatic picks with the inclusion of top former government officials.

Featured on the new list are Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, former Chief of Naval Staff and immediate past Sole Administrator of Rivers State, and Abdulrahman Dambazau, former Minister of Interior and ex-Chief of Army Staff.

Tinubu also nominated former senator and presidential aide Ita Enang, alongside Chioma Ohakim, former First Lady of Imo State. The nominees were not part of the earlier batch released by the presidency.

The president’s letter was read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during Thursday’s plenary, where Tinubu appealed to lawmakers to expedite the confirmation process to ensure swift deployment to critical diplomatic missions.

Akpabio referred the new nominees to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and directed the panel to complete screening and report back within one week.

The development follows Tinubu’s earlier submission of a larger ambassadorial list, which includes Reno Omokri, Femi Fani-Kayode, Mahmood Yakubu, former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, ex–Ekiti First Lady Erelu Bisi Fayemi, and former Lagos Deputy Governor Femi Pedro, among others.