Former Senate Leader Ali Ndume has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to withdraw the ambassadorial nomination list currently before the Senate, alleging that the composition violates the Federal Character principle enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.
The Senate had on Thursday, December 4, received the lists of career and non career ambassadorial nominees from President Tinubu, which were subsequently referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs for screening. In a statement on Saturday, Ndume, who represents Borno South, said the distribution of nominees was “lopsided” and failed to reflect Nigeria’s diversity as required under Section 14(3) of the Constitution. He noted that while some states have as many as three or four nominees, others have none, including Gombe State.
Ndume explained that Yobe’s only nominee, Senator Adamu Garba Talba, died in July, yet the entire North East secured only seven slots. He added that a breakdown of the nominees by geopolitical zones revealed further marginalisation of some regions, including the North East. According to him, the imbalance contravenes the Constitution, which mandates that appointments into federal institutions must reflect Nigeria’s federal character to promote national unity and prevent dominance by a few states or ethnic groups. “At this critical time in the life of his administration, President Tinubu must avoid decisions that could fuel ethnic tension or breed distrust. I appeal to him to withdraw the list and present a fresh set of nominees that align with the spirit of the Constitution,” he said.
The former Senate Leader added that the President, whom he described as a “cosmopolitan leader,” should ensure that all states and geopolitical zones are fairly represented in order to strengthen national cohesion and build public confidence in his administration’s commitment to inclusiveness.
