President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded a new list of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate, widening Nigeria’s incoming diplomatic team just days after submitting an initial batch of three names.
In two separate letters addressed to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu requested an expedited confirmation of 15 career ambassadors and 17 non-career ambassadors, signalling a significant reshaping of Nigeria’s foreign service structure.
The fresh list contains 10 women, with four nominated as career ambassadors and six as non-career appointees.
Notable Non-Career Nominees
The non-career list includes several high-profile figures:
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Barr. Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia), former presidential aide
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Reno Omokri (Delta), author and former presidential adviser
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Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, former INEC Chairman
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Erelu Angela Adebayo, former Ekiti First Lady
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Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, former Governor of Enugu
Also nominated are former Katsina Speaker Tasiu Musa Maigari; former Plateau Commissioner Yakubu N. Gambo; former UBEC Deputy Executive Secretary Yakubu Gambo; former Senator Prof. Nora Ladi Daduut; former Lagos Deputy Governor Otunba Femi Pedro; former Aviation Minister Chief Femi Fani-Kayode; and Barr. Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu of Anambra.
Additional nominees include former Oyo First Lady Florence Ajimobi; former Lagos Commissioner Lola Akande; former Adamawa Senator Grace Bent; former Abia Governor Victor Okezie Ikpeazu; business leader and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim; and former Ambassador to the Holy See Amb. Paul Oga Adikwu.
Career Diplomats on the List
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), Amb. Shehu Barde (Katsina), Amb. Ahmed Mohammed Monguno (Borno), Amb. Muhammad Saidu Dahiru (Kaduna), Amb. Olatunji Ahmed Sulu Gambari (Kwara), and Amb. Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun).
Potential Postings and Diplomatic Assignments
The nominees are expected to be deployed to strategic global missions, including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UAE, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, and key multilateral bodies such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union.
Their specific postings will be announced following Senate confirmation.
Last week, President Tinubu had forwarded the first batch of nominees — Amb. Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Amb. Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Col. Lateef Kayode Are (rtd) — who are being considered for top missions in the UK, USA or France.
President Tinubu added that more ambassadorial nominations will follow as the government continues reorganising its foreign representation.
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