A routine screening for ambassadorial nominees turned into a moment of embarrassment on Wednesday when one of President Bola Tinubu’s career picks, Emmanuel Adeyemi, failed to name all three senators representing his home state of Ekiti, prompting outrage from members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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Adeyemi, a deputy director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a PhD holder with foreign postings in Hong Kong and France, had impressed the panel with his credentials, until he attempted to acknowledge “the two senators from my state”.
He correctly mentioned Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele and Senator Yemi Adaramodu, then abruptly stalled.
Committee members pressed him to name the third senator, reminding him that each state has three representatives in the upper chamber.
The moment worsened when a member of Adeyemi’s delegation was seen hurriedly searching online for the missing name—Senator Cyril Fasuyi.
A visibly displeased Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South) said the incident reflected a deeper national concern about public office nominees.
He said: “Much as one man can’t know everything, an ambassadorial nominee should at least know the three senators from his state.
“At a time when Nigeria’s international image needs repair, competence must not be negotiable.”
Senators Adams Oshiomhole and Seriake Dickson echoed his concerns.
But Senator Yunus Akintunde, representing Senate Leader Bamidele, pleaded for forgiveness, asking the panel to overlook the lapse.
Still, he expressed disappointment at the frantic “Google search” that unfolded before the committee.
Adeyemi is one of three nominees from Ekiti, alongside Mrs Angela Adebayo and Olumilua Oluwayemika.
The Senate panel also screened several other career nominees, including Ahmed Sulu Gambari, Maimuna Besto, Monica Enebechi, Kingsley Onaga, Ahmed Monguno, Magaji Umar and Aminu Nasir.
In a surprise appearance, former Ondo governorship aspirant, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, though not originally listed, was invited to “take a bow and go”.
President Tinubu had last week forwarded a sweeping list of 65 ambassadorial nominees, both career and non-career, to the Senate, invoking Section 171 of the 1999 Constitution and urging their accelerated confirmation.
The list includes seasoned diplomats such as Sulu-Gambari Olatunji Ahmed (Kwara), Ahmed Mohammed Monguno (Borno) and Maimuna Ibrahim (Adamawa), as well as prominent political figures like former presidential aide, Ita Enang, former Naval Chief Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.) and ex-Army Chief Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau (rtd.).
Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred the list to the Foreign Affairs Committee, giving it one week to complete the exercise.
Wednesday’s session marked the second phase of the screening. An earlier batch, Kayode Are (Ogun), Aminu Dalhatu (Jigawa) and Ayodele Oke (Oyo), had appeared before the panel, with Oke using the opportunity to respond to longstanding allegations.
The staggered screening process, insiders say, forms part of a wider strategic restructuring of Nigeria’s foreign service as the administration prepares for a significant overhaul of diplomatic missions worldwide.
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