Nigeria’s opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), are unhappy with President Bola Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominees’ list, specifically questioning his inclusion of a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu.
PDP’s concerns were contained in a statement by the party’s spokesman, Ini Ememobong, who described the list of 32 ambassadorial nominees as scandalous.
“Specifically, we convey the disappointment of many right-thinking Nigerians on the nomination of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate-past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), whose administration of our electoral umpire was characterised by countless double-speaks, flip-flops, and undelivered promises, which ultimately resulted in the birth of this administration, which is struggling in all areas of governance,” the PDP said on Saturday.
“To offer him an ambassadorial appointment at a time like this is an excellent exemplar of a skewed reward system, which we suspect is designed as an incentive to the new INEC Chairman, to also deliver flawed elections in 2027, in expectation of future rewards. This is absolutely scandalous and completely unacceptable.”
President Tinubu on Saturday sent a list of 32 persons to the Senate for confirmation as career and non-career ambassadors.
Apart from the ex-INEC chief, others who made the nominees’ list included a former presidential aide, Reno Omokri and a one-time Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode.
Ex-governors of Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu and a former governor of Enugu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi also made the cut.
Others nominated are the ex-First Lady of Oyo, Fatima Florence Ajimobi; former Lagos Commissioner, Lola Akande, and an ex-ambassador of Nigeria to the Holy See, Paul Oga Adikwu from Benue State among others.
However, the PDP described the list as containing names of many “disgraced propagandists, characterless politicians, and public officials who are widely perceived negatively by Nigerians and the global community, for their integrity deficit and notable anti-democratic activities”.
The party, which ruled Nigeria from 1999 to 2015, labelled the development as a sad commentary on Nigeria’s diplomatic representation.
It said the list is “is very reprehensible and scandalous,” claiming the nominees are a reflection of Tinubu’s values.
“By making these nominations, the President has shown Nigerians that these are the best people he has to represent our country in the countries where they will be posted,” Ememobong wrote on behalf of the PDP.
“That it took the President almost three years to produce this list speaks to the paucity of excellent people within his reach.”
The party believes Nigeria deserves better representation and said “appointing and sending ambassadors with tainted political profiles is not only a great disservice to Nigeria but a setup for a diplomatic all-time low”.
“To this end,” it said, “we demand that President Bola Tinubu withdraw the said list and renominate only those with stellar democratic credentials and high moral standing, capable of commanding global respect for the ambassadorial assignments.”
Similarly, the ADC said the list appeared designed to settle Tinubu’s political indebtedness, rather than fix Nigeria’s urgent international relations crises.
“After waiting for more than two years, and with Nigeria’s diplomacy and global perception in historic tatters, President Bola Tinubu presents an outrageously underwhelming ambassadorial list that appears designed to settle his political IOUs rather than fix Nigeria’s urgent international relations crises.
“At a time that Nigeria needs a disciplined and credible diplomatic corps, capable of rebuilding the nation’s collapsing credibility on the continent and the rest of the world after two years of thoroughly damaging absence, President Tinubu has surpassed himself by presenting a comic cast of political jobbers, corruption suspects, and a patronage of wives, children, and relatives his of political associates,” the party said in a statement by its spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi.
The ADC specifically faulted the inclusion of the nomination of a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu.
“However, at the heart of this troubling list lies the nomination of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who conducted the election that brought Tinubu in as President of Nigeria.
“The ADC views the appointment of Prof. Yakubu as embarrassingly insensitive, especially coming barely two years after supervising a highly controversial election that ushered in President Tinubu as President and only a few weeks after leaving office as INEC Chairman.
“This particular appointment of Prof. Yakubu blurs what should be a distinct line between players and umpires. If allowed to stand, it would set a dangerous precedent where future INEC chairmen and commissioners may begin to see their positions as stepping stones to future political rewards,” it added.
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