The 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, amongst others, has criticised some of the names President Bola Tinubu submitted to the Senate for confirmation as ambassadors.
In a post on his X handle on Tuesday, Obi described the list as “shocking” and expressed disappointment.
“Yes, some of the names being paraded to represent us as ambassadors globally are shocking. But with a leadership that has allowed mediocrity, corruption, and impunity to rise to the top, who else did you expect them to choose?” he asked.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra, also lamented the hardships facing millions of Nigerians, saying that while people are being killed and children abducted from schools, the political class is busy hosting dinners, celebrating and dancing.
“When families cannot afford their next meal, those in power are welcoming defectors and exchanging gifts as though Nigeria is not burning. This is not governance. This is not leadership. And this is certainly not the Nigeria we deserve,” Obi said.
Other Nigerians have expressed concern over some of the names on Tinubu’s ambassadorial list.
A former permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joe Keshi, on Monday faulted the ambassadorial list.
Keshi questioned the character of some of the nominees, who he claimed should have no business being in the diplomatic service “by any standard”.
“You have people who, if justice had prevailed and if this country had been run properly, and the rules and the rules of the game are obeyed, actually should be cooling their heels in the walls of the prison and not being sent out as ambassadors.
“You have people who have governed their states. They were absolute failures. They showed no leadership when they led their states, and the governors who took over from them are struggling to repair the damage they’ve done to their states.
“Those are the kind of people being rewarded, either because they have helped you to destroy other political parties, and the rest of it,” he said.
He further urged the President to include officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the next list, noting that they have become demoralised and disappointed after undergoing years of training and preparation.
However, the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Foreign Affairs and Protocol, Ademola Oshodi, defended the president’s choices and urged Nigerians to respect the constitutional powers vested in the presidency and have confidence in the choices made.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Tuesday, he said reactions to the list were expected but stressed that presidential appointments are based on context, competence and strategic needs.
He explained that the list reflects a deliberate balance across different categories of candidates.
“We have career, we have non-career, we have political, we have people that are less controversial,” he said.
He stressed that Nigerians entrusted Tinubu with the authority to select his executive team and should therefore respect the choices he makes.
“Whatever he chooses, even if he chooses a minister, changes the security personnel, it’s in his interest. We voted for him. We give him the right to choose his executives. We have to trust his judgment,” he declared.
Among the new nominees are Reno Omokri, former presidential aide; Mahmood Yakubu, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); Femi Fani-Kayode, former aviation minister; and Okezie Ikpeazu, ex-governor of Abia State; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, ex-governor of Enugu State.
Ondo Senator and businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim; a former Ekiti first lady, Erelu Angela Adebayo and former Adamawa Senator, Grace Bent also made the list of nominees.
