Months after receiving the names of some ambassadorial nominees, President Bola Tinubu has yet to draw up a consolidated list of diplomats who will serve as Nigeria’s envoys to various countries and multilateral organisations, The PUNCH reports.

This is as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has since collated and forwarded the names of prospective diplomats to the President for consideration.

“We have collated everything on our part and forwarded it to Mr. President,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, confirmed to our correspondent before Monday’s Federal Executive Council meeting.

However, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, confirmed to our correspondent that such nominations must pass through a thorough process before a final list is released. He debunked a list making the rounds, describing it as “fake news.”

“There is no official list as of today. There is a list in circulation. That is fake news. The foreign affairs list will still go through certain processes before it is released.

“Don’t forget that the ambassadorial list has two components. There are career ambassadors and political ambassadors. So, whichever one they submitted, it will still go through a long process.”

In November 2023, a senior official in the ministry said “Names of new ambassadors are being compiled.”

Although it was not clear if the nominees were political or career diplomats, feelers indicate that they primarily comprise the latter.

It is believed that while career diplomats are determined by their career progression, as recommended by the foreign service, political diplomats are often appointees of the President.

In December 2023, a high-ranking official in the nation’s foreign service, who spoke anonymously to The PUNCH, confirmed to our correspondent that one of those considered for the top diplomatic jobs is the Founder of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. Mr. Afolabi Adeola.

Adeola will be designated Nigeria’s Ambassador to one of the world’s top three economies.

The source stated, “Yes, the President has a list of recommended persons and is considering it already.

“One of those I saw is Fola Adeola, the Founder of GTB.

“He is being considered as the Nigerian Ambassador to one of the world’s top three economies.”

Aside from Adeola, The PUNCH, on Tuesday, gathered that a Senior Special Assistant to the President, a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Olufemi Pedro, and the Speaker, Katsina House of Assembly, Tasiu Maigari, are also being considered for ambassadorial jobs.

Explaining the rationale for the choice, the source noted that the Tinubu administration was keen on deploying technocrats and captains of industry as its front persons in foreign lands.

“The President is reserving many of the slots for technocrats, people who have built a strong reputation in their respective fields and have built companies employing thousands of Nigerians. We need people who can use their influence to secure deals and partnerships for the benefit of their country.

“It is not a new thing. When choosing envoys, the most developed economies send their best hands for those jobs. And Tinubu is following that path.

“For example, Adeola is an investor and is not a strange face on the foreign scene and the global business community. He knows them and they know him. And he is not the only one. You can see that this speaks of the administration’s pursuit of more Foreign Direct Investment,” said the source.

On the process followed in compiling the nominees, sources told our correspondent that the Federal Government had set up a committee to recommend qualified individuals to fill the roles.

A source, who did not want to be named, said, “A committee was set up to make recommendations for career and political ambassadors.

“You see, most of the career ambassadors already know they are next for appointments. But they don’t know to which country they will be sent. There are countries where Nigeria has delicate political interests. For these ones, the government usually sends political ambassadors.

“If you remember, President Buhari appointed his former service chiefs as ambassadors to some African countries.”

Nigeria has 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates globally.

On September 2, 2023, President Bola Tinubu recalled all career and non-career ambassadors operating the country’s diplomatic missions, embassies and consulates globally.

A statement by Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed the recall of the ambassadors, saying: “Sequel to the inquiries on the letter recalling the Nigerian ambassador to the UK, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has clarified that all career ambassadors and non-career ambassadors have been recalled on the instructions of President Bola Tinubu.”

The envoys were directed to return to the country on or before October 31.

They include the 41 non-career ambassadors and 42 career ambassadors appointed by Former President Muhammadu Buhari in July 2020.

The diplomats were deployed after the Senate confirmed them by Section 171(2)(1c) and Subsection 4 of the 1999 Constitution.

An explainer by Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, noted that only 25 career ambassadors who had attained the retirement age and had been in public service for 35 years were recalled.

Tinubu confers posthumous National Honours on deceased 17 Army personnel

FG to provide housing in any part of the country to each of the family of 4 Officers & 13 Soldiers killed in Delta State.

FG approves scholarships to children of the deceased up to university level including those in the womb.

Benefits of the departed to be paid in the next 90 days.

The slain Army officers and soldiers were Lt. Col. AH Ali (Commanding Officer, 181 Amphibious Battalion); Major SD Shafa; Major DE Obi; Capt. U Zakari, and Sgt. Yahaya Saidu.

Others included Cpl Yahaya Danbaba; Cpl Kabir Bashir; LCpl Bulus Haruna; LCpl Sole Opeyemi; LCpl Bello Anas; LCpl Hamman Peter; LCpl Ibrahim Abdullahi; Pte Alhaji Isah; Pte Clement Francis; Pte Abubakar Ali; Pte Ibrahim Adamu, and Pte Adamu Ibrahim.
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~President Bola Tinubu

The Nigeria Labour Congress has rejected the re-election of Julius Abure as Labour party’s national chairman vowing not to accord him any form of recognition.

Abure was returned as the party national chairman at a national convention of the party held in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday.

The convention also saw all members of the National Working Committee return.

The slots for representatives of both the NLC and the Trade Union Congress were, however, left vacant.

NLC spokesman, Benson Upah, while reacting to the news, vowed that the congress will never back the party under Abure’s leadership.

While describing the convention as a charade, Upah told our reporter that the return of the national chairman was a nullity as far as the NLC is concerned.

He said, “It’s an illegality, a nullity. The whole exercise was a charade! Nothing can legitimise such brazen impunity.”

A presidential spokesperson said Wednesday that President Bola Tinubu will attend the national burial for the Nigerian military officers and soldiers killed on 14 March by armed persons in Okuama Community in Delta State.

Bayo Onanuga, Mr Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Strategic Communication, did not, however, limit his post on X to announcing the president’s intention, he also took a dig at Mr Tinubu’s predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, for not attending the funerals of soldiers slain on duty.

“It is the first time in the last ten years that a Nigerian President will attend such a solemn event, in honour of our men of gallantry and valour,” Mr Onanuga wrote.

Two other burials in 2018 and 2021 were not graced by the incumbent president, Mr Onanuga wrote.

Mr Buhari was the Nigerian president between 2015 and 2023.

In November 2018, Boko Haram terrorists killed several Nigerian soldiers in different attacks on the Nigerian Army 157 Task Force Battalion in Borno state. Then the former chief of army staff Ibrahim Attahiru, a lieutenant general, and 10 other officers were also killed in an ill-fated military plane crash. Former President Buhari did not attend the burials on both occasions.

Mr Onanuga added in his post, “We told you then that President Tinubu cares. He is demonstrating it yet again.”

The post has since stirred controversy on X (formerly Twitter) with many Nigerians criticising Mr Onanuga for playing politics and having zero respect for the families of the slain soldiers.

“It’s disgraceful to exploit the deaths and funerals of military personnel for petty political attacks against other parties,” an X user Ben Samuel said in reply to Mr Onanuga’s tweet.

“Why not simply state that the president is attending the final farewell of the fallen heroes and end with a period,” he said.

Another user, Lannister Aspiration, said: “The last paragraph was not entirely necessary. It is acceptable for the president to express sympathy for the fallen soldiers, but attempting to politicise every action of the President, including attending a burial site of the fallen soldiers, is not in line with Bola Tinubu’s style.”

“Everything you said after the first full stop, is not necessary at all, are we celebrating the president’s presence at a funeral venue now, whether the President attend is not what is needed, talks should be about arresting the assailants and how living military officers won’t face the same issue,” said Wilex Williams, another user.

After the public outrage, Mr Onanuga edited the first version of the tweet, removing the section where he referred to the incidents in 2018 and 2021.

“It is confirmed that President Bola Tinubu will be attending the national burial for the Nigerian military officers and soldiers killed on 14 March by some gunmen in Okuama Community in Delta State. It is the first time in the last ten years that a Nigerian President will attend such a solemn event, in honour of our men of gallantry and valor. We told you then that @officialABAT cares. He is demonstrating it yet again,” the new version of the post reads.

Mr Onanuga has been a close ally of Mr Tinubu for decades and was a spokesperson for the president during his campaign. Mr Tinubu appointed him as his adviser on Information and Strategy last October.

Mr Onanuga’s slight dig at ex-President Buhari appears to reflect the relationship between the former president’s core supporters and those of the incumbent. The supporters have sometimes publicly criticised each other’s principal on social media despite belonging to the same party.

Although both men are members of the ruling party, APC, Messrs Buhari and Tinubu have had a topsy-turvy relationship amidst suspicions that Mr Buhari tried to stop Mr Tinubu from succeeding him.

Although Mr Tinubu has reversed some of Mr Buhari’s policies and accused some top officials of the Buhari administration of corruption, he has repeatedly praised Mr Buhari and refused to publicly criticise him since Mr Tinubu assumed office as president.