The former senate leader, Ali Ndume, has clarified his decision to take part in the screening of ambassadorial nominees after earlier urging President Bola Tinubu to withdraw the list over an alleged violation of the federal character principle.
Ahead of the screening exercise, the lawmaker had called on Tinubu to recall the ambassadorial nominations, arguing that the list was uneven and in breach of section 14(3) of the 1999 constitution, which requires fairness and equitable representation in federal appointments.
He had warned that the composition failed to reflect Nigeria’s diversity and could threaten national cohesion.
Despite this position, the Borno south senator later joined members of the senate committee on foreign affairs to screen the nominees submitted to the upper chamber.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday, Ndume said he was convinced by his colleagues on the committee not to boycott the process, following assurances that their reservations would be officially conveyed to the president.
“I still maintain that the list is lopsided,” he said.
“At the committee level, I raised a constitutional order at the meeting, and we agreed to proceed with the screening, but in our report, we will advise the president that the composition of the remaining list should be adjusted to address concerns about a breach of federal character principles as provided in our constitution.”
Ndume added that the committee leadership assured him that its concerns would be clearly reflected in the final report to be submitted to the president.
He further argued that states omitted from the current nominations should be considered in subsequent lists.
“We have 109 missions. For non-career ambassadors, each state should have one to ensure balance because states like Gombe and Yobe were not included, while some states have only career ambassadors, which are essentially non-political appointments,” he said.
“Each state should have two or three ambassadors, and at least one career ambassador, since we have 109 embassies made up of 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 consulates.
“This structure can accommodate up to three ambassadors per state, both career and non-career. That would resolve the issue of imbalance and the breach of section 14(3) of the constitution. Don’t forget that there are 194 countries in the world.”
Ndume said the senate would formally communicate its observations to Tinubu in the screening report, urging him to correct the imbalance before confirming the remaining nominees.