Tinubu skewed appointments can boomerang, Ndume warns

Senator Ali Ndume (APC Borno South) has faulted the federal as well as political appointments made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

According to him, the President has favoured an ethnic group, contrary to the dictates of the Federal Character guidelines.

Ndume said he was shocked when he read the endless and sectional list of federal political appointees going viral on social media, describing the situation as non-inclusive and not reflecting the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of Mr President.

He spoke on Arise News (Prime Time) on Monday, which was monitored by our correspondent.

He pointed out that as a lawmaker, and based on his observation, President Tinubu’s appointments so far violated federal character and should be corrected.

The senator, who is a member of the ruling APC, has always been vocal and a critic, especially on some government policies and programmes allegedly not in favour of the Nigerian masses and the electorate.

Responding to a question on the list of political appointees by Mr President, which is in circulation and in favour of one ethnic group, Ndume said, “Well, I don’t think I have anything to add, because the figures are there; you can look at it; I sent you all. It is not that I am making accusations or saying that Mr President does not have the right to make appointments, but Section 14/3 of the Constitution is very clear. When you look at it vis-à-vis the appointments made so far, they are political appointments.

“If appointments that are professional, so to say, like you can’t appoint someone who is not a soldier to become Chief of Army Staff, or you can’t appoint someone who is not a police officer to become the Inspector General of Police, IGP, but then, when you come to look at political appointments, the Constitution, as I said earlier, is very clear, and it is because to avoid such infractions that the constitution of Section 14/3 states that political appointments should reflect the Federal Character….., which is not the case here.

“All I am saying is to call the attention of Mr President to such infractions so that they can be corrected; otherwise, this thing can boomerang at a certain period of time. Just like you said, people look at me as somebody that is critical of the government, but I have the right to do that because that is why I am elected as a legislator at the National Assembly in the first place.

“Collectively, we are supposed to oversee the acts of Mr President and point out some of the irregularities. This is what we swore to do. It is not personal, because if you count five people in the North that have a personal relationship with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I (Ndume) am one of them. But that does not stop me from saying the truth, because I have the obligation to do that in the interest of all Nigerians.

“As a Nigerian and a lawmaker, I have the right to voice this out, but Tinubu’s attack dogs will attack me, not the message. It is not personal, as I said, especially now that everybody will stand before God Almighty and account for his/her own stewardship as leaders. It is unfortunate that after this interaction, these so-called Tinubu Boys or people will start attacking Ndume, saying he is a very frustrating person,” Ndume said.

FG screens Fani-Kayode, Femi Pedro, others for ambassadorial posts, Reno Omokri missing

The Federal Government has begun vetting candidates for ambassadorial postings across its 109 diplomatic missions, including 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 consulates.

According to a report by Punch, credible sources revealed that former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode and former Lagos State Deputy Governor Femi Pedro are among the individuals undergoing screening.

The paper revealed that the process is being carried out through regional offices of the Department of State Services (DSS), rather than through a centralised mechanism.

Presidency officials confirmed that nominees have been contacted and asked to submit personal, educational, and professional records.

“They’re already doing security checks with DSS. When they have cleared security checks, we will release the list. Only those who have been cleared are announced. The process is ongoing. I know that we should have a list before the end of this month (April),” an official disclosed anonymously.

Another source stated, “The vetting is not done centrally. It is based on the location of the nominees. Nominees have been reached to provide personal history and information such as where they attended school, what appointments they have held, and the like. So, it is by location.”

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Since September 2023, President Bola Tinubu has operated his foreign policy built on the “4Ds”—Democracy, Development, Demography, and Diaspora—without confirmed ambassadors in place. That same month, he recalled more than 83 ambassadors, both career and political.

In December, sources said the President spent part of his holiday reviewing nominees for diplomatic assignments with plans to send a consolidated list to the National Assembly. However, the process was delayed in January due to financial constraints.

One presidency insider said the delay was largely due to the estimated $1 billion required to settle outstanding obligations including the arrears of foreign service staff, renovations, and vehicle replacements.

“You see, the major issue is money. Not money to pay them [ambassadors], because how much is their salaries and benefits? The main money is CAPEX [Capital Expenditure]. By the time they put the cost together to fix the issues, it is running to almost $1bn.

“Most of those embassies, almost 90 per cent, are rundown. Either the residence is not good, the embassy does not have a functional office, or their rent has expired… I understand that some of them don’t have serviceable vehicles… Some of them don’t even have power and running water,” the source explained.

Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar has also blamed the delay on lack of adequate funding.

“It is a money problem,” Tuggar said during a May 2023 ministerial briefing in Abuja. “There is no point sending out ambassadors if you do not have the funds for them to even travel to their designated countries and to run the missions effectively… Mr President is working on it, and it will be done in due course.”

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Although the 2025 budget includes provisions to address some of the issues, insiders say the funding is insufficient.

While the complete list of ambassadorial nominees remains classified, officials confirmed that several prominent figures are undergoing screening.

“They’re going to announce the appointments soon. They are being screened as we speak… FFK [Femi Fani-Kayode] is on the list. These are some of the controversial names that have been put forward as well. Then there is Fola Adeola [co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank] and Femi Pedro too. They’re moving on with the process more quickly this time,” a source said.

According to another official, the rigorous screening is intended to ensure none of the candidates pose reputational or security risks to the country.

There were speculations that former presidential aide Reno Omokri had been shortlisted, but a source in the presidency dismissed the claim.

“Reno is not on the list. But FFK is there,” the source said.

Presidential adviser Bayo Onanuga confirmed that the list will include both career and political nominees and will undergo multiple layers of review before submission to the legislature.

“Don’t forget that the ambassadorial list has two components. There are career ambassadors and political ambassadors. The foreign affairs list and the consolidated list will still go through certain processes before they are released,” he said.

Two individuals believed to be among the nominees declined to comment when contacted. They neither confirmed nor denied their inclusion.

FG screens Fani-Kayode, Femi Pedro, others for ambassadorial posts, Reno Omokri missing

I didn’t collapse, says Wike, warns death rumour mongers 

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has debunked reports that he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital last week.

Wike described the reports of his rumoured collapse as the handiwork of “baseless” people trying to score cheap political points.

He spoke after inspecting four ongoing projects in the FCT, including the International Conference Centre.

Online posts circulating on X had surfaced alleging that the minister collapsed at an event on Friday in the FCT.

The rumour also claimed that Wike was immediately rushed to an undisclosed hospital, where he received treatment.

Reacting, Wike said, “There was no time I collapsed, there was no time anybody took me overseas. But you see me every day. The day Mr President broke iftar on his birthday, I was there.

“The next day, I led Abuja residents to pay Sallah homage. I see all those stories just died down. This is politics. We have thick skin. Those things don’t bother us. We are not distracted. We are focused on our jobs.

“So, I thank Nigerians for being worried, which should be, but people should not wish their fellow human beings such a thing to happen.

“We know that we will die one day. Nobody will remain in this world forever, but it is only God that says the day you will die, not any human being to say you will die today or you will die tomorrow.

“So, you have seen that I am even healthier than most of them who carried that rumour and I will write their condolence letters. I can assure you that I will write their condolence letters.”