Ali Ndume, former Senate Leader and Senator for Borno South, said the Senate will officially share its concerns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu about the ongoing ambassadorial screening, especially regarding the “lopsided” nature of the nominees.
Ndume explained why he joined the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs to screen the ambassadorial nominees sent by the President two weeks ago, even though he had earlier called for the list to be withdrawn.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday in Abuja, Ndume said his colleagues convinced him not to boycott the screening after they assured him that the committee’s concerns would be clearly stated in the final report to the President.
He said, “I still maintain that the list is lopsided. At the committee level, I raised a constitutional point of order during our meeting. We agreed to proceed with the screening, but with a clear understanding that our report will advise Mr President to ensure that the remaining nominations are balanced in line with the federal character principle.”
Before the screening, Ndume had urged President Tinubu to rethink the nominations, saying they violated the federal character principle.
He argued that the list did not fairly represent all states and geopolitical zones, which goes against Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution. This section requires that the federal government’s makeup reflects Nigeria’s diversity to promote unity and loyalty.
Ndume said the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs decided to send its observations to President Tinubu, recommending that states left out of the current nominations be included in future lists.
He pointed out that Nigeria has 109 foreign missions, including 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 consulates, which should allow enough room for fair representation of all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
“For non-career ambassadors, each state should have at least one nominee to ensure balance. States like Gombe and Yobe were not captured at all, while some states have only career ambassadors, who are essentially non-political appointees,” Ndume said.
He also suggested using a mix of career and non-career ambassadors to fix the imbalance, proposing that each state should have two to three ambassadors, including at least one career diplomat.
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