Five ambassadorial nominees haunted by controversies

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As the Senate prepares to screen President Bola Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominees, attention is shifting to those whose controversies could weigh on their representation of the country overseas.

After nearly two years without substantive envoys after recalls from the country’s 109 foreign missions, President Tinubu on Sunday, November 26, sent three names to the Senate as ambassador-designates.

Last Saturday, the President followed up with another list containing 32 names.

On Thursday, he transmitted a letter to the Senate updating the list to 65 nominees.

According to the letter, 34 persons were nominated as career ambassadors and high commissioners, while 31 others were nominated as non-career ambassadors and high commissioners.

In the letter, Tinubu urged the Senate to give swift consideration to the nominees to help fill key diplomatic positions.

The President’s letter was read at plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who said Tinubu asked lawmakers to give the nominations urgent consideration.

He referred the list to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, directing the committee to screen the nominees and report back within one week.

However, the President has come under heavy criticism over the composition of the list.

Opposition parties, civil society groups, and several Nigerians have accused some nominees of having serious integrity and accountability concerns.

The Peoples Democratic Party, African Democratic Congress and New Nigeria Peoples Party, particularly, accused President Tinubu of using strategic diplomatic postings to reward political allies and controversial figures.

They specifically criticised the nomination of former Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, calling it “scandalous.”

Sunday PUNCH has shortlisted five nominees with such controversies:

Ayodele Oke

Oke, a former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, is one of Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominees facing integrity concerns.

In 2019, The PUNCH reported that the EFCC declared Oke and his wife, Folasade, wanted for failing to appear in court to answer N13bn money-laundering charges against them.

The couple had reportedly travelled abroad for medical treatment in late January, shortly before their scheduled arraignment.

Justice Chukwujeku Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, issued an arrest warrant against the couple on February 7, 2019, following an oral application by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo.

A statement by the then EFCC spokesman, Tony Orilade, noted that Oke and his wife were wanted in connection with $43m, £27,800, and N23.8m recovered by the commission from an apartment on Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, in April 2017.

Under Oke’s leadership, the NIA was said to have collected $289,202,382 in cash for special operations from the account of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services at the Central Bank of Nigeria in February 2015.

The agency claimed the funds were for covert intelligence operations, but the Federal Government maintained it was a case of looting.

The FG subsequently set up a three-man panel headed by former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, which indicted Oke and recommended his dismissal.

Criminal charges were filed against him and his wife over the cash found at the Ikoyi apartment.

However, the EFCC later withdrew the charges on grounds of national security.

New charges were filed in February 2025, but there was no successful arraignment as both husband and wife had left the country.

Ibok-Ete Ibas

Ibas, a retired Vice Admiral, served as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State from March to September 2025.

He was accused of mismanaging N283bn during his brief tenure.

In October, the ICPC confirmed receiving a petition demanding a probe into the handling of Rivers State federal allocations by Ibas.

The ICPC spokesperson, Demola Bakare, said the petition had been forwarded to the commission’s legal department for review.

“Yes, we have received the petition and will look at its merit. It has a process. We receive it at the registry, the chairman gets it, and he forwards it for a legal opinion,” he said.

The petition, filed by civil rights activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, was titled, ‘Petition for the Investigation into the Financial Expenditure of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.), Former Sole Administrator of Rivers State.’

Adeyanju urged the ICPC to urgently investigate Ibas’s financial activities during his administration between March 18 and September 17, 2025.

Also, the Rivers State House of Assembly said it would investigate the state expenditure during the six months of emergency rule.

The assembly disclosed this during its first plenary after the end of emergency rule.

This was even as Civil Society Organisations and Rivers elders demanded accountability from Ibas over the money the state received from the Federation Account Allocation Committee.

But, reacting, Ibas said the lawmakers lacked the power to investigate him, pointing out that they didn’t appoint him as the administrator of the state.

He described the lawmakers’ resolve as commentary, adding that the attempt to probe the former administrator was tantamount to probing the President, who appointed him, as well as the National Assembly, which supervised the activities of Ibas as the state administrator, as he then was.

Okezie Ikpeazu

Okezie Ikpeazu served as governor of Abia State from 2015 to 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. He defected to the All Progressives Congress in April 2024.

In 2024, an audit report by KPMG International Nigeria Limited indicted Ikpeazu for allegedly diverting N1.9tn from the state’s treasury during his tenure.

According to Premium Times, incumbent Governor Alex Otti commissioned the firm to audit the state government’s finances between May 29, 2015, and May 28, 2023.

The 359-page forensic audit report, titled, ‘Final Report: Provision of Process Review Services to Abia State Government’, indicted Ikpeazu for mismanaging the state’s funds.

Funds allegedly mismanaged included payments for non-existent projects, loans released without stated purpose, unremitted internally generated revenue, illegal deductions, payments made before approval, and allocations or withdrawals lacking supporting documents or vouchers.

The report stated that the alleged illegal activities violated various sections of state laws and government mandates, including the Abia State Public Procurement Law 2012 and the Abia State Financial Regulations (as amended in 2001).

The Commissioner for Information in Abia State, Okey Kanu, disclosed in June 2024 that the state government had handed over a copy of the report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for possible prosecution.

Reno Omokri

Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, was one of the most vocal critics of President Tinubu during the 2023 election cycle before suddenly switching his political stance.

During the 2023 campaign, Omokri told Arise TV that Tinubu was a drug lord.

“I have facts to back this up, I have documents to back it up. I spent my money, went to Chicago, went to court, and got certified true copies to prove that Bola Tinubu is a drug lord,” he said.

In 2022, Omokri led a protest against Tinubu at the Chatham House in the United Kingdom.

In 2023, during an interview with Channels TV, Omokri ruled out ever working with Tinubu.

“I cannot do it. It is just against my principles. Some people can do that, but it is not in my DNA. It is never going to happen. I wish Bola Tinubu well, but I can never work with him,” he said.

Omokri’s nomination may face additional hurdles following a petition submitted to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and other senators by a former mayor of Blanco City, Texas, in the United States, Mike Arnold.

In the petition shared on his X handle, Arnold described Omokri as a “danger” to Nigeria, warning that if appointed as an ambassador, he would de-market the country.

“Do not let this man carry your flag. He will embarrass you on the world stage within six months,” Arnold said.

Femi Fani-Kayode

Known for making controversial statements, the former Minister of Aviation was one of the ardent critics of Tinubu before he defected to the ruling party in 2021.

Known for his eloquence, Fani-Kayode also falls into the category of controversial politicians. As a member of the PDP, Fani-Kayode was a vocal critic of President Tinubu and the APC.

“I am committed to opposing the APC and those that are in their ranks for the rest of my natural life, and I will never join them no matter what! They are nothing but darkness whilst I stand for the light of God and truth: there can be no fellowship between light and darkness,” he tweeted on December 15, 2019.

Fani-Kayode did not limit his verbal assaults to the APC.

He described Tinubu as a man with “bad health and always on drugs” on his Facebook page on March 4, 2015.

He also described Tinubu as the biggest traitor ever known in Nigeria.

In a statement on March 18, 2015, Fani-Kayode said, “He (Tinubu) has betrayed every single person that he has worked with and he has thrown them to the dogs at the last minute for a price. During the days of NADECO, he betrayed the cause by colluding with the government of the day secretly while pretending to be a NADECO leader.

“The truth is that this man has not only sold his soul to the devil but he has also sold his followers for a pittance and he is leading them into perdition. He wants to buy and sell Nigeria too, and it is time for somebody to tell him that Nigeria is not for sale. This is what Chief Fani-Kayode and others are in the process of doing.”

Fani-Kayode has faced criminal prosecution, corruption charges, and trials spanning four major cases and appeals by the EFCC over the last 18 years, but he was acquitted of all charges.

No petition against nominees yet – Senate

Meanwhile, the Senate said it had not yet received any petition against any nominees.

The Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, in an interview with Sunday PUNCH on Thursday, explained that while there had been public concerns, the Senate could only act on written petitions submitted through proper channels.

Adaramodu noted that the screening of nominees had been referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, which had one week to carry out its responsibilities.

“As of now, we have not received any petition against any nominee. The list was just read today (Thursday). If there is going to be any petition, we believe the committee will pass it to the Senate,” Adaramodu said.

He emphasised that the committee’s work was only the first stage, as the full Senate would still question each nominee before taking a final position.

Adaramodu added that the Senate had the power to reject any nominee found unfit for the role during the screening process.

“After the committee screening, the committee will present its report to plenary, and then the whole Senate will consider the report.

“At the committee level, the nominees’ screening is not final. The Senate, at the larger house, has the power to uphold, reject, or amend the committee’s findings,” he added.

Adaramodu stressed that the Senate would not hesitate to act on credible allegations or petitions brought against any candidate.

“It is the duty of the committee of the whole, led by the Senate President as chairman, to uphold, reject, or sustain the committee on Foreign Affairs’ report,” Adaramodu added.

Ndume, ex-envoys, PDP, CSO fault list

The Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, on Saturday, rejected the ambassadorial nominees, insisting the list breached the federal character principle and should be withdrawn ahead of next week’s Senate screening.

Ndume, a former Senate Leader and Chief Whip, said the allocation of nominees to states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional provision that mandates fair representation in the composition and conduct of the Federal Government.

Ndume, in a statement in Abuja, warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be working to consolidate national unity.

The lawmaker pointed out disparities in the spread of nominees, alleging that while some states had three to four slots, while others had none.

He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died earlier in July.

“The entire North-East state 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 in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominees while South-South parades 12 nominees,” he lamented.

Warning that the imbalance could heighten tension, Ndume urged the President to review the nominations, saying such an imbalance undermined the spirit of Section 14(3) of the Constitution.

Also, speaking on the list, a former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Yemi Faronbi, said the long delay in naming ambassadors reflected a lack of understanding by the Presidency of the critical role envoys play in advancing Nigeria’s interests abroad.

Faronbi criticised the heavy reliance on political appointees over career diplomats, who, he said, are better trained and experienced in international relations.

“I would have thought, and I have always argued, that we needed more career ambassadors when we are doing postings. They are very well trained in diplomacy, in international relations, and they have been exposed to economic, security, and consular work. So, they are always in a better position to interface with their host country,” he said.

Faronbi added that political appointments should be limited to specific challenges, such as trade, economic, or political issues, rather than as a reward for party loyalty.

“In Nigeria, ambassadorial posts are seen as a reward for being a party member or for having helped the president or party leader. That is because we forget that those who help us win elections cannot necessarily help us run government,” Faronbi noted.

He questioned the suitability of several nominees, including the former INEC chairman, saying they lacked the experience and expertise of previous envoys.

He added that appointing individuals without a broad understanding of Nigeria or the necessary temperament undermines the dignity of the office.

Faronbi also expressed concern over the speed of the Senate screening process, warning that it risks approving nominees without proper scrutiny.

“They say it will be done within one week. So, it is garbage in, garbage out. I think it is a little unfortunate,” he said.

Reacting to concerns about whether nominees like Femi Fani-Kayode and Reno Omokri were suited to represent Nigeria globally, a former Nigerian Consul to Cameroon and ex-Director of Trade and Investment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Rasheed Akinkuolie, said political ambassadorial appointments were entirely at the discretion of the President.

According to him, a presidential nomination is never the final step.

Beyond Senate confirmation, every ambassador-designate must also be accepted by the receiving country, which conducts its own background checks.

“Rejections do occur if there are petitions by civil society groups or individuals of the sending state against a candidate,” he said.

Akinkuolie added that non-career ambassadors typically rely on the experience of career diplomats stationed at the mission.

According to him, seasoned officers provide the technical backbone of Nigeria’s foreign engagement, while political appointees focus on ceremonial and representational duties.

“Discreet and sensible political ambassadors give leeway to the career officers, who are highly experienced and have been on the job for decades, to run the mission,” he said. “The political ambassador stays in the background to attend cocktails and other ceremonies.”

On his part, the Executive Chairman of CACOL, Debo Adeniran, called on the EFCC, ICPC, and Department of State Services to flag any nominee with unresolved corruption cases before appointment.

Adeniran, in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, also urged receiving countries to conduct due diligence and reject candidates with questionable backgrounds.

He expressed frustration with the current process, noting that citizens had limited input and that political considerations often outweighed merit.

Also reacting, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Ini Ememobong, criticised the nomination of Ibas, warning that granting diplomatic power to nominees whose pasts remain clouded by unresolved allegations could undermine public trust and send wrong signal about the administration’s priorities.

“At a time when the country is facing serious challenges, we need nominees whose records demonstrate competence, commitment to public service, and capacity to represent Nigeria credibly abroad. Yet, the list includes individuals described by titles such as ‘former First Lady’ rather than by professional achievements, which is both frustrating and unacceptable,” he said.

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