MARCEL MBAMALU
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the names of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, just days after sending an initial trio of candidates.
In two separate letters to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the president asked the upper chamber to expedite the approval of 15 career ambassadors and 17 non‑career ambassadors. The career list includes four women, while the non‑career list features six women.
The list was released in a statement made available to Prime Business Africa by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President, Information & Strategy on Saturday November 29, 2025.
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Among the non‑career nominees are prominent figures such as Barrister Ogbonnaya Kalu (Abia), former presidential aide; Reno Omokri (Delta), ex‑INEC chairman; Mahmud Yakubu, former first lady of Ekiti; Erelu Angela Adebayo; and former Enugu governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. The roster also includes former Speaker of the Katsina House of Assembly Tasiu Musa Maigari, former Plateau Commissioner Yakubu N. Gambo, former Plateau senator Nora Ladi Daduut, former Lagos deputy governor Otunba Femi Pedro, former aviation minister Femi Fani‑Kayode, and Barrister Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu (Anambra). Additional names are former Oyo first lady Fatima Florence Ajimobi, former Lagos commissioner Lola Akande, former Adamawa senator Grace Bent, former Abia governor Victor Okezie Ikpeazu, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (Ondo), and former Nigerian ambassador to the Holy See Paul Oga Adikwu (Benue).
The career ambassador 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) and Mopelola Adeola‑Ibrahim (Ogun). Others are 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 (Kawara) and Ambassador Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun).
If confirmed, the envoys are expected to be posted to countries with which Nigeria enjoys “excellent and strategic bilateral relations,” including China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, as well as to permanent missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO and the African Union. All nominees will receive their specific diplomatic assignments only after Senate confirmation.
The move follows last week’s submission of three ambassadorial nominees—Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa) and retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun)—who are being considered for postings to the United Kingdom, the United States or France . President Tinubu indicated that further nominations will be announced soon, signalling a broader reshaping of Nigeria’s diplomatic corps amid ongoing foreign‑relations challenges.
