UPDATED: Tinubu Appoints Three Ambassadors, Send Names to Senate for Confirmation

President Bola Tinubu has appointed three non-career ambassadors, asking the senate to confirm the appointees for immediate appointment.

This was contained in a letter addressed to the senate and read on Wednesday by the senate president, Godswill Akpabio.

Tinubu said the nominations were made in accordance with section 171 (1), (2)(c) and (4) of the 1999 constitution (as amended).

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The nominees are Kayode Are of Ogun state, Aminu Dalhatu of Jigawa state, and Ayodele Oke of Oyo state.

Tinubu urged the senate to “consider and confirm the appointments expeditiously”.

The letter was referred to the senate committee on foreign affairs, which has been directed to report back within one week.

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The appointments come nearly two years after Tinubu recalled all Nigerian ambassadors, both career and non‑career, in September 2023.

The nominees are expected to assume postings at key missions globally once confirmed, providing representation for Nigeria.

President Tinubu nominated the non-career ambassadors for three countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.

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The postings will be finalised following Senate screening. The three nominees are Ambassador Ayodele Oke, Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are, and Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu.

Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu previously served as Nigeria’s ambassador to South Korea during President Buhari’s administration, having been first appointed in 2016.

Ambassador Ayodele Oke, an alumnus of Emory University in Atlanta, is a former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and previously served as Nigeria’s ambassador to the Secretariat of the Commonwealth of Nations in London.

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Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are was Director General of the State Security Service (SSS) from 1999 to 2007, served as National Security Adviser in 2010, and was an officer in the Directorate of Military Intelligence. He graduated with First Class Honours in Psychology from the University of Ibadan in 1980.