Bola Tinubu, Nigeria's President, has approved the immediate posting of four ambassador-designates to strategic foreign missions, marking the first batch of deployments from the 68 nominees earlier confirmed by the Senate.
Among those posted is retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are, a former Director-General of the State Security Service, who has been assigned to the United States. Ambassador Ayodele Oke has been posted to France, while Ambassador Amin Dalhatu will serve as Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Former Governor of Kebbi State, Usman Isa Dakingari Suleiman, completes the list, having been posted to Turkey ahead of President Tinubu’s scheduled state visit to the country next week.
The approval was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
According to him, the President approved the deployment of the four envoys from the pool of ambassadorial nominees confirmed by the Senate in December.
“The posting of Ambassador Ayodele Oke to France and Colonel Lateef Are to the United States has been confirmed by the President,” Onanuga said.
He added that Ambassador Amin Dalhatu, a former Nigerian envoy to South Korea, was appointed High Commissioner-designate to the United Kingdom, while Suleiman was named ambassador-designate to Turkey.
Onanuga noted that the decision to post Suleiman to Turkey was taken in view of the President’s planned state visit to the country.
He further disclosed that the approvals had been formally communicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with directives to notify the governments of the host countries in line with established diplomatic procedures.
The presidential spokesman explained that the postings were drawn from the list of ambassadorial nominees earlier screened and confirmed by the National Assembly.
The development follows the Senate’s confirmation of 64 ambassadorial nominees forwarded by President Tinubu after adopting a report by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Those confirmed include former Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau; former presidential aide, Ita Enang; former Special Adviser on New Media to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri; former INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu; former Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; and former Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu.
In total, the Senate confirmed 34 career ambassadors and high commissioners, as well as 30 non-career ambassadors and high commissioners.
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