The Federal Government is allegedly vetting potential candidates to fill diplomatic roles in its 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 global consulates.
Since September 2023, President Bola Tinubu has operated his Democracy, Development, Demography, and Diaspora (foreign policy) without ambassadors.
That month, he concluded a sector-wide reassessment of Nigeria’s foreign policy, which saw over 83 career and non-career ambassadors recalled from their stations.
Sources who spoke to Punch revealed that a former Minister of Aviation under the Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, Femi Fani-Kayode, and a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro, are among those that have been nominated to fill diplomatic roles.
It was also gathered that the vetting is not conducted centrally, as nominees are being asked to report to the Department of State Service (DSS) offices nearest to them.
Presidency officials confirmed that several candidates have been contacted to provide personal education and work history.
“They’re already doing security checks with DSS. When they have cleared security checks, we will release the list.
“Only those who have been cleared are announced. The process is ongoing. I know that we should have a list before the end of this month (April),” one official revealed,
A second source said, “The vetting is not done centrally. It is based on the location of the nominees.
Nominees have been reached to provide personal history and information such as where they attended school, what appointments they have held, and the like. So, it is by location.”
Senior Presidency and foreign service officers say although the complete list of nominees is highly classified, some prominent and controversial figures are being screened.
One official said, “They’re going to announce the appointments soon. They are being screened as we speak. The names of the nominees are highly classified for now because not every one of the names listed will eventually make it through.
“FFK [Femi Fani-Kayode] is on the list. These are some of the controversial names that have been put forward as well. Then there is Fola Adeola [founder of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc] and Femi Pedro too. They’re moving on with the process more quickly this time.”
Giving reasons for the slow process, another official explained that the vetting was necessary to avoid complications that might hurt the country’s standing on the global scene.
“The nominees are being vetted, and background checks are being conducted on them. It is usually done so that the nominees will not have any security issues and their deployment will not have a negative impact on the country,” the official said.
