SENATORS have rejected President Muhammadu Buhari's 46-man list of non-career ambassadorial nominees because of over 250 petitions against them from members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In September, President Buhari forwarded the names of the political nominees to the senate for ratification for ambassadorial appointments. They are in addition to a list of 47 career diplomats whose names were sent to the senate for screening earlier this year.
However, yesterday, lawmakers, said the list would be returned to President Buhari for re-submission and re-jigging because of over 250 petitions against them. Some notable names on the 46 non-career nominees’ list rejected by the include retired justice of the Supreme Court, Justice George Oguntade, former deputy governor of Plateau State, Mrs Paulen Tallen, a former member of the House of Representatives Usman Bugaje and a former deputy governor of Niger State Ahmed Ibeto.
State governors had protested against their non-involvement in the selection of the non-career ambassadorial nominees by President Buhari. Even before the list was published, Mrs Tallen and Alhaji Bugaje had rejected their nomination, citing failure to duly consult them.
Imo State and the Federal Capital Territory, which had representatives among the 47 career ambassadorial nominees, did not get any nominee in the non-career batch. Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, said much uproar, noise and petitions had greeted the nomination of those on the non-career list.
“We have received over 250 petitions and we found it difficult to conduct the screening of the nominees. We have resolved to send the list of the 46 nominees back to the executive for them to look at the issues,” she said.
However, the Senate confirmed the nomination of the 47 career ambassadors on merit. Senator Sunmonu confirmed that some of the nominees could not recite the national anthem and the national pledge during their screening, while there were those who had less than the mandatory 30 months before their retirement.
She, however, urged the Senate to confirm the appointment of the nominees, saying that the committee had found them worthy of being ambassadors of the country. Criticising the report, Senator Peter Nwabaoshi said the committee failed to state the nominees who failed to recite the national anthem and the pledge in the report.
Former speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly Senator Olurunnimbe Mamora had appeared to be the frontrunner to become the next Nigerian high commissioner to the UK after his name was included on a list President Buhari sent to the senate. However, he too now, will need to have his name re-submitted.
Comments
Post a Comment