President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated Chioma Ohakim, former First Lady and wife of former Imo State Governor, Ikedi, as a non-career ambassador, marking Imo State’s latest representation in Nigeria’s diplomatic service.
Ohakim’s nomination was contained in a fresh list of envoy designations forwarded by the presidency to the National Assembly and formally read on the floor of the Senate during Thursday’s plenary session.
Alongside Ohakim, the president also nominated Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, former chief of naval staff and immediate past sole administrator of Rivers State, as well as Ita Enang, a former senator, and Abdulrahman Dambazau, a former minister of interior and ex–chief of army staff.
Their names were notably missing from the earlier batch of ambassadorial nominees earlier transmitted to the Senate.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who read the presidential letter during plenary, conveyed Tinubu’s request for an expedited screening process to ensure that key diplomatic positions are filled without delay.
Following the reading, Akpabio referred the nominations to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs with a mandate to conclude its screening and report back to the chamber within one week.
Ohakim’s nomination has drawn attention in Imo political circles, given her past role as First Lady during the administration of former Governor Ikedi Ohakim and her visibility in public affairs over the years.
The latest nominations come days after the president earlier named Reno Omokri, a former presidential aide, Femi Fani-Kayode, ex-minister of aviation, and Mahmood Yakubu, immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as ambassadors.
With the new additions, the Tinubu administration continues the gradual completion of its diplomatic postings as Nigeria repositions its foreign policy engagements.
If confirmed by the Senate, Chioma Ohakim and the other nominees will formally assume duties as part of Nigeria’s non-career diplomatic envoys.
