President Bola Tinubu has forwarded three names as ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, ending a two-year delay in filling these key diplomatic positions.
The nominees include Kayode Are, Aminu Dalhatu and Ayodele Oke. Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the submission during Wednesday’s plenary, noting, “The list contains three names for now, I am sure others will follow.”
Since assuming office, President Tinubu has not appointed any ambassadors, a situation critics have described as embarrassing for Nigeria on the international stage.
Top on the list is Lateef Kayode Are, a retired Nigerian Army Colonel who was Director General of the Nigerian State Security Service, SSS, from 1999 to 2007 and briefly served as National Security Adviser in 2010. Are served as an officer in the Directorate of Military Intelligence up until retirement by General Sani Abacha.
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Are was appointed boss of the DSS by President Olusegun Obasanjo, served in that post throughout President Obasanjo’s two terms (1999-2007), and was replaced by Afakiriya Gadzama, who was appointed in August 2007 by President Umaru Yar’Adua.
Are was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in December 1974 from the Nigerian Defence Academy as part of the NDA Regular Course 12. He graduated among the best ten student officers and was deployed to the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corp following his graduation from the Defence Academy.
Are’s NDA Regular Course 12 mates included officers such as General Owoye Andrew Azazi, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, and Admiral Ganiyu Adekeye.
Are graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Psychology in 1980 from the University of Ibadan where he won the University Senate prize, Faculty of Social Sciences prize and the Department of Psychology prize for best graduating student. He later obtained a master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos in 1987.
Ambassador Oke is a retired career diplomat and former Director General, National Intelligence Agency. He is a distinguished career diplomat with over three decades of service in Nigeria’s foreign affairs and intelligence sectors. He has expertise in international relations, multilateral diplomacy, and national security. Served as Nigeria’s top intelligence chief from 2013 to 2017, overseeing covert operations and foreign intelligence.
His previous key appointments are Director General, National Intelligence Agency by President Goodluck Jonathan when versaw Nigeria’s external intelligence operations, including counter-terrorism and strategic intelligence gathering. He was also an ambassador to the Commonwealth Secretariat London, United Kingdom.
Dalhatu was a career diplomat and ambassador with extensive experience in international relations and bilateral diplomacy. He served as ambassador to the Republic of Korea (South Korea), fostering economic, cultural, and political ties between Nigeria and host nations.
His key appointments include ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) Embassy of Nigeria, Seoul; oversaw diplomatic operations, consular services, and promotion of Nigeria-Korea relations, including trade, investment, and cultural exchanges.
Earlier, he was a career diplomat in the Nigerian Foreign Service, with prior postings and roles in international diplomacy; he also contributed to Nigeria’s foreign policy implementation across various capacities within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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