President Bola Tinubu has made some fresh nominations for appointment as non-career ambassadors.
According to a statement on Thursday from the State House, those on the list include the immediate past sole administrator of Rivers state and former naval chief, Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas.
Others are former senator Ita Enang; former Imo state first lady, Chioma Ohakim; and former Minister of Interior and former chief of army staff, Abdulrahman Dambazau.
The President also nominated Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, Senator Nora Daduut, and Fatima Ajimobi, among others, for appointment as non-career ambassadors.
The latest list now brings to 68 the total number of persons so far nominated for appointment as ambassadors by President Tinubu.
The Senate on Wednesday had screened and cleared three ambassadorial nominees forwarded by Tinubu, after a session lawmakers described as rigorous, dominated by national security and competence reviews.
The nominees cleared by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs are former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency and ex-Ambassador to the Commonwealth Secretariat, Ayo Oke, career diplomat and former Ambassador to South Korea, Amin Muhammad Dalhatu and former Director General of the State Security Service, Lateef Kayode Are.
One of the highlights of the screening was when one of the nominees, Oke, tried to address the issues raised by Senators, notably Seriake Dickson and Adams Oshiomhole.
He acknowledged Dickson and Oshiomhole for raising matters he described as “already in the public domain.” Oke, who sought the committee’s permission to address the concerns, stated that while he would not delve into sensitive operational details, he was prepared to clarify key points.
Speaking on the controversial covert operation that is attached to his name, the nominee stated that the “clandestine operation” enjoyed the approval of two Presidents, stressing that his actions were taken strictly in the service of national security.