Tinubu Nominates Ibas, Dambazau As Ambassadors, Senate Clears Oke, Others

President Bola Tinubu has nominated the immediate past sole administrator of Rivers State and former chief of naval staff, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, as a non-career ambassador.

In the additional ambassadorial nominees’ list presented to the Senate yesterday, Tinubu sought the Upper House confirmation of Senator Ita Enang, former first lady of Imo State, Chioma Ohakim and former minister of Interior and ex-chief of army staff, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, as envoys.

Their names were not included in the earlier list of ambassadorial nominees released by the presidency.

Tinubu’s latest nominations were contained in a letter addressed to the Senate and read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during yesterday’s plenary.

In the correspondence, President Tinubu urged the upper chamber to give the nominees speedy consideration so the government can fill strategic diplomatic postings without delay.

Following the announcement, Akpabio referred the list to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, directing the panel to conduct the necessary screenings and report back to the Senate within one week.

The new nominations come shortly after the president named Reno Omokri, a former presidential aide; Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of Aviation; and Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as non-career ambassadors.

Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs has cleared Ayodele Oke, Kayode Are and Aminu Dalhatu after an intense screening session at the National Assembly.

The three nominees were part of the first batch transmitted by President Bola Tinubu to the upper chamber for confirmation.

The session focused heavily on national security concerns, past service records and controversies surrounding previous operational decisions—particularly in the case of Oke, the former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

Oke, who also previously served as Nigeria’s ambassador to the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, addressed allegations that resurfaced following his nomination.

In April 2017, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reported that it had discovered $43 million, £27,000, and N23 million in an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos. Subsequent media reports claimed the funds were linked to covert NIA operations during his tenure.

Another report indicated that the NIA collected $289,202,382 in cash from the account of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) at the Central Bank of Nigeria in February 2015 after the postponement of the general election.

Thanking the Senate for the opportunity to speak, Oke said the matters were “already in the public domain” but stressed that he would not disclose sensitive operational details.

He said the NIA achieved “unprecedented progress—organisational, operational and infrastructural” under his leadership between 2013 and 2017.

He also said he built “the best conference centre in the country”, recalling that the site was an empty field when he assumed office.

On the controversial covert operation, Oke insisted it received presidential approval from “two presidents” and was executed strictly in the interest of national security.