Tag Archives: Ambassadorial List

Senate rejects list of Non-Career Ambassadorial nominees.

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The dream of 47 Nigerians to represent this country as Non-career Envoys may have hit the bricks as the Senate on Tuesday resolved that the list of nominees should be sent back to the Presidency.

 

In a motion ably moved by the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume and seconded by the Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, the Senate cited controversies and plethora of petitions emanating from the list as reason behind its rejection.

 

Earlier, the Chairman of Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu had submitted that her committee could not commence screening of the Non-career Ambassadorial Nominees due to litany of petitions that saturated the committee secretariat.

 

“We find it very difficult to commence screening for the Non-career Ambassadorial Nominees. We received over 250 petitions against some of the nominees,” she said.

 

In his ruling, the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki said the list should be reverted to the Presidency, to readjust it before submitting to the Senate.

 

It could be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari sent a list containing 47 names of Non-career Ambassadorial Nominees to be screened by the Senate.

 

The list, however, suffered rejection in some quarters. While Senator Philip Aduda queried the non inclusion of FCT indigenes in the list, some Analysts also probed why Lagos State could get 3 nominees and states from the North also got 2 nominees, whereas, Imo State had no representative in the list.

Ambassadorial List: Senate Summons SGF, Foreign Affairs Minister

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The Senate on Wednesday summoned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, and the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geofrey Onyeama, over the lopsided list of 47 career diplomats sent to the red chamber about two weeks ago.

They alleged that some states were excluded from the list whereas some states had up to three nominees.

Apart from this, the senators also explained that there were specific petitions against some nominees, who were said to have been picked ahead of their senior colleagues from their states of origin.

The Chief Whip, Olusola Adeyeye, cited the case of two directors on level 17, from the same state who were dropped for a junior officer.

He said, “The two of them are in fact, already on level 17 and in making the recommendations many who are junior to them in experience and in status have been elevated above them. They therefore want some intervention from the chamber to be sure that correct process is followed.

“They also said that there are those who have served the republic meritoriously who did not get passed because of whatever might be the internal politics of the ministry.

“So, I plead that relevant committee and this chamber would take a second look at this prayer.

“We should direct that the minister for foreign affairs, and the SGF to appear before the committee on foreign affairs to explain the omissions and irregularities and the processes by which some of these names came about.”

Credit: Punch