Senator Ali Ndume (APC/Borno South) on Saturday raised strong objections to President Bola Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominees, warning that the composition breaches the federal character principle and risks inflaming ethnic tensions if allowed to scale Senate confirmation.
Sen. Ndume, a former Senate leader and chief whip, in a statement issued in Abuja, said the list submitted to the Senate on Thursday does not reflect equitable distribution across states and geopolitical zones, adding that some regions are “over-represented while others are conspicuously excluded.”
He expressed concern over what he described as “glaring imbalance,” citing variations in allocations across geo-political blocs.
“The entire North-East has seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees, while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Sen. Ndume stated.
According to him, the list undermines Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates equitable representation in the composition of the government.
Sen. Ndume also noted what he termed a “disturbing inclusion,” referencing Senator Adamu Talba from Yobe State, who reportedly died in July.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust,” he said.
Sen. Ndume added that while he believes Tinubu to be “a cosmopolitan leader,” the current configuration of nominees “runs contrary to the spirit of fairness the Constitution envisions.”
The Senate is set to commence screening of the nominees this week after Senate President Godswill Akpabio formally read the transmission from the Presidency.
The batch comprises 34 career ambassadors and high commissioners and 31 non-career appointees.
The submission arrived less than a day after senators began screening three nominees forwarded earlier by the Presidency.
Read also:
- Ndume slams colleagues for using Police Escorts as Tinubu’s security reforms take effect
- Ndume urges FG to deploy Akinyemi, Kingibe, Anyaoku to defend Nigeria before the US
- Sen. Ndume backs Dangote Refinery, calls for public restraint
Prominent career diplomats on the list include Ambassadors Sulu-Gambari Olatunji Ahmed (Kwara), Ahmed Mohammed Monguno (Borno) and Maimuna Ibrahim (Adamawa).
The non-career category features several former top political and military figures, including ex-Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.) from Cross River; former presidential aide and senator Ita Enang (Akwa Ibom); and former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd.) from Kano.
Also listed are former presidential aide Reno Omokri; former INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu; former Lagos deputy governor Otunba Femi Pedro; former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode; former Enugu governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim.
Akpabio has forwarded the list to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, giving it one week to submit its report.
“The committee is to report back to us in one week,” he said.
