Senate rejects Buhari’s 82-year-old ambassadorial nominee, another

From Fred Itua, Abuja 

Senate, yesterday, rejected two, out of the 47 non-career ambassadorial nominees, sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 12, 2017.

The two rejected nominees are Sylvanus Adiewere Nsofor from Imo State and Jacob Igbekele Daodu from Ondo State.

Explaining the rationale behind Nsofor’s disqualification, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Monsurat Sunmonu, said the Imo nominee was too old to hold public office.

Nsofor is 82 years old.

As for Daodu, Sunmonu said he was disqualified because of a report from the Department of State Services (DSS).

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who presided over the day’s legislative business, read names of the 45 confirmed nominees to be: Uzoma Eminike (Abia); Aminu Lawal (Adamawa); Godwin Umoh (Akwa Ibom); Christopher Okeke (Anambra); Yusuf Maitama (Bauchi); Baba Maigudu (Bauchi); Stanley Douye (Bayelsa) and Stephen Uba (Benue).

Others were: Baba Ahmed Gida (Borno); Utobong Asuquo (Cross River); Frank Ofegina (Delta); Joda Udoh (Ebonyi); Yagwe Ede (Edo); Eniola Ajayi (Ekiti); Chris Eze (Enugu); Sulieman Hassan (Gombe); Aminu Dalhatu (Jigawa); Ahmed Bamilli (Kaduna) and Deborah Yahaya (Kaduna).

Also included were: D. Abdulkadir (Kano); Haruna Arungungu (Kano); Musa Udo (Katsina); Mohammed Rimi (Katsina); Tijani Bande (Kebbi); Y. Aliu (Kogi); Nurudeen Mohammed (Kwara), Mohammed Isa (Kwara); Adesola Omotade (Lagos); Modupe Remi (Lagos); Musa Mohammed (Nasarawa); Ahmed Ibeto; Niger and Susan Aderonke Folarin (Ogun).

Afolayon Adeyemi (Osun); A. Olaniyi (Oyo); James Dmika (Plateau); Haruna Abdullahi (Plateau); Orji Ngofa (Rivers); Sahibi Isa Dada (Sokoto); Kabir Umar (Sokoto); Jika Ado (Taraba); Goni Zana (Yobe); Garba T. (Zamfara); Bala Mohammad (Zamfara) and Ibrahim Dada (FCT) also made the list.

Late last year, President Muhammadu Buhari, submitted 46 names of non-career ambassadorial nominees to the Senate.

The list was greeted with criticism.  Imo and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were omitted from the old list. Bowing to pressure, Senate eventually rejected the list and sent it back to Buhari to correct some lapses.