President Bola Tinubu has continued in his trajectory of making controversial appointments with the inclusion of the name of the immediate past military administrator of Rivers State and retired naval chief, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, in the list of non-career ambassadorial nominees released on Thursday.
Newsmata.com.ng (NM) reports that the list, shared on Thursday by the State House, also featured ex-Minister of Interior and former chief of army staff, Abdulrahman Dambazau; former senator Ita Enang; and former Imo state first lady, Chioma Ohakim.
Among those earlier nominated as non-career diplomats are former presidential aide Reno Omokri, former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode; immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) Professor Mahmood Yakubu; Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, Senator Nora Daduut, and Fatima Ajimobi.
The new nominations bring to 68 the total number of persons so far appointed as ambassadors by the president.
NM reports that the Senate had earlier screened and cleared three ambassadorial nominees, namely: 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.
Tensions rose during the session when Oke, linked to the controversial multi-million dollars Ikoyi apartment cache haul attempted to address issues raised by Senators, particularly Seriake Dickson and Adams Oshiomhole.
Expressing gratitude to both Senators for bringing up matters he described as “already in the public domain”, Oke requested the committee’s permission to clarify the concerns.
He said while he would refrain from discussing sensitive operational details, he was willing to clarify key points.
Oke explained that this “clandestine operation” had received approval from two Presidents, insisting that his actions were taken solely in the interest of national security.