The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has rejected the list of ambassadorial nominees as presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu.
The main opposition party, specifically said that the nomination of Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate-past Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, poses questions.
According to the PDP, the nomination is a reflection of the values portrayed by the Tinubu administration.
President Tinubu released the list of Ambassadorial nominees to the national assembly on Saturday.
The list contained the names of 32 additional nominees following the recent submission of an initial three nominees.
In the new list, Mahmood Yakubu, who many Nigerians believe rigged the 2023 presidential election in favour of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Reno Omokri, who is regarded as a propagandist, Femi Fani-Koyade, and former Enugu Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, a former Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, among others, made the nominees.
The PDP believes that the President has not selected the best hands to represent Nigeria in foreign countries but has rewarded those he felt has done one dirty job or the other for him to become President.
The PDP sees many of the nominees as disgraced propagandists, characterless politicians, and public officials who are widely perceived negatively by Nigerians and the global community.
“This development is not just a sad commentary on our country’s history of diplomatic representation; it is very reprehensible and scandalous,” the statement signed by Comrade Ini Ememobong, the party’s
National Publicity Secretary, said.
The party, however, said that most Nigerians are not totally surprised as this has been the case with the Tinubu administration.
“By making these nominations, the President has shown Nigerians that these are the best people he has to represent our country in the countries where they will be posted,” it added.
The PDP was alarmed that it took the President this long to nominate this set of individuals, adding, “Specifically, we convey the disappointment of many right-thinking Nigerians on the nomination of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate-past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, whose administration of our electoral umpire was characterised by countless double-speaks, flip-flops, and undelivered promises, which ultimately resulted in the birth of this administration, which is struggling in all areas of governance.
“To offer him an ambassadorial appointment at a time like this is an excellent exemplar of a skewed reward system, which we suspect is designed as an incentive to the new INEC Chairman, to also deliver flawed elections in 2027, in expectation of future rewards. This is absolutely scandalous and completely unacceptable.
“Appointing and sending ambassadors with tainted political profiles is not only a great disservice to Nigeria but a setup for a diplomatic all-time low.”
The PDP then called on President Tinubu to withdraw the list of nominees without delay, insisting that Nigeria is blessed with right people to represent them abroad, saying that “only those with stellar democratic credentials and high moral standing, capable of commanding global respect for the ambassadorial assignments.”
