The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday approved the ambassadorial nominations of former ministers Femi Fani-Kayode and Abdulrahman Dambazau.
The two nominees, who previously served as Minister of Aviation and Minister of Interior, respectively, were not subjected to lengthy questioning, as they had undergone full Senate vetting during their earlier ministerial confirmations.
After brief introductions, lawmakers asked them to “take a bow and leave,” a long-standing Senate practice applied to nominees with established public service records.
Lawmaker Opeyemi Bamidele defended the use of the gesture, stressing that it is reserved for those with verified careers in public office.
“Anyone who has previously served in the National Assembly automatically qualifies for the privilege,” he said, adding that such individuals already have well-known public and legislative profiles.
The nominees’ confirmations now move to the full Senate for final approval.
The New DailyPrime reported that the screening followed President Bola Tinubu’s submission of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the apex lawmaking body on November 29.
The nominees, drawn from across Nigeria’s political and professional spectrum, include former INEC chairman Mahmud Yakubu, Delta-born media personality Reno Omokri, and ex–Enugu State governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Tinubu’s spokesman Bayo Onanuga confirmed the submissions in a release, noting that the names were transmitted in letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The statement, titled ‘Tinubu nominates 32 additional ambassadors,’ outlined two categories of nominees: 15 career diplomats and 17 non-career appointees.
“In two separate letters to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu asked the Senate to consider and confirm expeditiously 15 nominees as career ambassadors and 17 nominees as non-career ambassadors,” the statement said.
Onanuga also highlighted gender representation in the nominations, adding: “There are four women on the career ambassadors’ list and six women on the non-career ambassadors’ list.”
