Ndume Explains Participation in Ambassadorial Screening Despite Constitutional Concerns

Former Senate Leader Ali Ndume has clarified why he took part in the Senate screening of Ambassadorial nominees, despite raising objections over what he described as violations of Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Representing Borno South in the National Assembly, Ndume had previously urged President Bola Tinubu to withdraw the list of nominees to address the constitutional breaches he observed in its composition.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Sunday, Ndume said his concerns were based on Section 14(3) of the Constitution, which requires that the structure and conduct of the federal government reflect Nigeria’s “federal character” to promote national unity and loyalty.

He, however, explained that members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs persuaded him to participate in the screening exercise, assuring him that his observations would be formally communicated to the President.

Ndume said, “I still maintain that the list is lopsided. At the Committee level, I raised a constitutional order at the committee meeting, and we agreed that we will continue with the screening, but in our report, we will tell the President that the composition of the remaining list should be balanced to address our concerns on breach of federal character principles as enshrined in our Constitution.”

He added, “We have 109 missions. For the non-career ambassadors, each state should have one to balance it because states like Gombe and Yobe were not captured, while some states have only career ambassadors, which are more or less non-political ambassadors.

“Each state should have two or three ambassadors, and each state should have at least one career ambassador since we have 109 embassies, which consist of 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates. This can accommodate three ambassadors per state, non-career and career. That will address the issue of lopsidedness and breach of Section 14(3) of the Constitution. Don’t forget that we have 194 countries in the world.”

Last week, the Senate screened and confirmed 68 Ambassadorial nominees, including former INEC National Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, former Minister of Aviation Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, former Presidential aide Reno Omokri, and former Minister of Interior Abdulrahman Dambazau.

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