The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, David Babachir Lawal, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Geoffrey Onyeama, on Tuesday told the Senate that there is no going back on the list of 47 ambassadorial nominees submitted to it for confirmation.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in last month forwarded the names of 47 ambassadorial nominees for confirmation.
However, both the SGF and the Minister said the nominees, nominated under the prerogative of the President, do not need to cut across the 36 states of the federation as it is with ministerial nominees.
The top government officials made the submission while appearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, which summoned them over alleged lopsidedness in the list.
Ondo, Bayelsa, Ebonyi and Plateau States were excluded in the list of nominees.
Specifically, the SGF in his explanation declared that the list was based on certain criteria and not the other way round and that even at that, 32 out of the 36 states in the federation were captured.
This, to him, shows substantial compliance to the federal character principles.
He said part of the criteria used in the selection of the nominees apart from their respective records of service, is change compatibility value of the nominee in line with the change agenda of the present administration.
Lawal said: “You must understand the mindset of this government.
“It’s a change government.
“It is important that whoever is going to be on board in this government, who is going to play one role or the other must be somebody that we will like to call change compatible.
“He must establish his integrity, his qualification on the job and his ability to deliver on the job.”
Lawal, however, along with the Minister, assured the committee that the four states omitted in the list would be compensated in the non-career list that would soon be forwarded to the Senate by the President.
Efforts by the Committee members to grill the SGF and the Minister further over the controversial list were however not allowed by the Chairman, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu (APC-Oyo Central), who ordered for closed-door session for further deliberations.
—