President Bola Tinubu has forwarded a significant list of ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation, sparking both anticipation and controversy. The latest submission includes 65 additional nominees, comprising 34 career ambassadors and high commissioners, and 31 non-career ambassadors and high commissioners. This comes barely a week after an earlier batch of three non-career ambassadorial appointments was transmitted. Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the letter during plenary in Abuja on Thursday, December 4, 2025, appealing for expedited consideration to promptly fill key diplomatic vacancies. The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs has been directed to complete its screening and submit a report within one week.

Among the prominent figures nominated are Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, the immediate past Sole Administrator of Rivers State; former senator Ita Enang; ex-Imo State First Lady Chioma Ohakim; and Abdulrahman Dambazau, former Minister of Interior and ex-Chief of Army Staff. Other notable non-career nominees include former INEC Chairman Mahmoud Yakubu, ex-presidential aide Reno Omokri, former governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, former Deputy Governor of Lagos State Femi Pedro, Ondo North senator Jimoh Ibrahim, Florence Ajimobi (wife of the late governor of Oyo State), former Ekiti State First Lady Angela Adebayo, and Senator Folasade Grace Bent. Distinguished career nominees mentioned include Sulu-Gambari Olatunde Ahmed from Kwara State and Segun Ige from Edo State. Three previously forwarded nominees—Kayode Are (Ogun State), Aminu Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Ayodele Oke (Oyo State)—have already undergone screening.

However, the nominations have been met with criticism from various quarters. Kingsley Moghalu, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, expressed his dismay over some nominees' past remarks against President Tinubu. Posting on X, Moghalu stated he was “chilled to the bones” by the “extreme, personally abusive, and invective-loaded language” these individuals had previously used to describe Tinubu, only to later accept appointments. He questioned the integrity of those who would “eat their own vomit” for “fleeting political opposition” or “crumbflakes,” suggesting it spoke more about the character of the speaker or writer than the subject of the abuse.

Adding to the discourse, the indigenous people of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have appealed to President Tinubu for the immediate inclusion of a native of the territory in the ambassadorial list. At a press briefing in Abuja, the FCT Senior Citizens Forum condemned what they termed “systematic and perpetual marginalisation and exclusion” of original inhabitants in key political appointments. Elder Danjuma Tanko Dara, Coordinator of the group, highlighted the recent omission of an FCT native from the Governing Board of the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) as the latest in a series of painful exclusions. He asserted that FCT natives are “treated as strangers in our own homeland” in ministerial appointments, board placements, and diplomatic postings.

The forum presented a twin-pronged appeal, blending political reality with a warning about rising social discontent. Elder Dara reminded the administration of the constitutional requirement for a presidential candidate to secure at least 25 per cent of the votes cast in the FCT to be declared winner, emphasizing that President Tinubu’s “path to victory in 2027 legally passes through the FCT.” He warned that ignoring or marginalising FCT indigenes would breed “deep-seated resentment and a feeling of alienation among our youth,” potentially sowing seeds of discord and unrest. The group concluded by stating that a capital built on the alienation of its original owners is built on a “fragile foundation,” posing a danger to social harmony and national unity. They also urged FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to champion their cause within the federal government.