News
Ambassadors: FG Screens Femi Fani-Kayode, Others, Reno Omokri Copiously Missing

The Federal Government is vetting potential candidates to fill diplomatic roles in its 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 global consulates, The PUNCH reports.
Impeccable sources familiar with the developments revealed that a former Minister of Aviation under the Obasanjo administration, Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, and a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro, are among the nominees.
It was gathered that the vetting is not conducted centrally, as nominees are being asked to report to the DSS offices nearest to them.
Presidency officials confirmed to our correspondent that several candidates had 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, preferring to remain anonymous as he was not authorised to speak to the press.
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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.”
Tinubu’s 4Ds and funding issues
Since September 2023, President Bola Tinubu has operated his 4Ds—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.
Last December, reliable sources close to the President confirmed that Tinubu spent part of his holiday reviewing the names of nominees with plans to transmit a consolidated list to the National Assembly before the end of the month.
However, updates in January revealed that the President changed his mind.
It was gathered that the process suffered delays due to the paucity of funds—to the tune of $1bn —required to pay arrears of foreign service officials, settle a backlog of overheads, replace ageing vehicles and renovate embassy buildings.
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One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “You see, the major issue is money. Not money to pay them [ambassadors], because how much is their salaries and benefits? The main money is CAPEX [Capital Expenditure]. By the time they put the cost together to fix the issues, it is running to almost $1bn.
“Most of those embassies, almost 90 per cent, are rundown. Either the residence is not good, the embassy does not have a functional office, or their rent has expired. The embassies that are buoyant may not be up to 10 as we speak.
“I understand that some of them don’t have serviceable vehicles. The last vehicles they bought were from 10 years ago. Some of them are broken down, and ambassadors cannot use such vehicles because they carry the image of the country. Some of them don’t even have power and running water. So, if you post ambassadors there today, you’re sending them to trouble.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, also attributed the delay to financial constraints.
“It is a money problem,” Tuggar said during a ministerial briefing in Abuja last May.
He argued that appointing ambassadors without the financial resources to support their travel and the effective running of missions abroad was pointless.
“We met a situation where foreign affairs was not being funded like it should be. Some loopholes are exploited by the likes of Binance. It is a money problem.
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“There is no point sending out ambassadors if you do not have the funds for them to even travel to their designated countries and to run the missions effectively, one needs funding. Mr President is working on it, and it will be done in due course,” Tuggar said.
A foreign service official explained that though provisions had been made in the 2025 budget to cover some of that cost, the funds were hardly enough.
Nominees on the list
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.
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“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.
There was also a claim that Reno Omokri, a former aide of former President Goodluck Jonathan, was on the list.
But a credible source in the Presidency denied it.
“Reno is not on the list. But FFK is there,” the source said.
The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, who earlier spoke about the delays, said nominations for ambassadorial roles must be thorough before a final list is transmitted to the National Assembly.
“Don’t forget that the ambassadorial list has two components. There are career ambassadors and political ambassadors. The foreign affairs list and the consolidated list will still go through certain processes before they are released,” he explained.
Two of the nominees, when contacted by The PUNCH, declined comment.
They also did not confirm or deny the report.
News
VIDEO: Why I’ve Never Tried Convincing My Christian Wife To Convert To Islam — Tinubu
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has explained why he has never attempted to convince his wife, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, to convert to Islam, stressing his belief in love, religious freedom, and mutual respect among people of different faiths.
Speaking on Saturday at the funeral service of Nana Lydia Yilwatda, mother of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwada, Tinubu said his marriage to a Christian pastor has never created any conflict in their home.
The president, who arrived in Jos, Plateau State around 2 p.m. for the ceremony at the COCIN headquarters church, said he inherited Islam from his family and has always upheld the principle of freedom of religion.
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He noted that both he and the First Lady serve the same God and would ultimately be answerable to Him, adding that what matters most are people’s deeds, character, and love for others.
Tinubu urged Nigerians to embrace tolerance and peaceful coexistence, emphasising that hate should never have a place in the country.
He also prayed for the repose of the soul of the late Lydia Yilwada and asked God to grant comfort and blessings to those she left behind.
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He said, “Hate is not an option for us. Love is what you preach, that we should love one another.
“Nobody, nobody determines what God has ordained. God’s ordained action and his promises are what matter. I inherited Islam from my family. I didn’t change. But my wife is a pastor. She prays for me.
“No conflict. And I never did at any single time try to convince her or convert her. I believe in the freedom of religion.
“We are praying to the same God. We are answerable to the same almighty God. We will answer to him. We will account to him. Our deeds, our character, our love for our fellow beings are what are important.
“May the almighty accept the soul of Lydia and give all that she left behind blessings and glory, so we say, may her soul rest in peace.”
News
UK Police Quiz Six After Fatal Synagogue Attack
Six people arrested on suspicion of “terrorism”-linked offences after a fatal car-ramming and knife attack on a UK synagogue remained in police custody on Saturday, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged people not to take part in pro-Palestinian protests.
Two people were killed and three others seriously wounded in Thursday’s attack in northwestern Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Police shot dead the assailant, Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old UK citizen of Syrian descent, within minutes of the alarm being raised.
Three men and three women are in custody.
The attack has heightened fear among Britain’s Jewish community.
Police said they were patrolling places of worship across the city “with a particular focus on providing a high-visibility presence within our Jewish communities”.
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The attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in north Manchester was one of the worst antisemitic incidents in Europe since the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel led by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures in the occupied territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
The Gaza conflict has inflamed passions in Britain, with frequent pro-Palestinian rallies in cities that some critics allege have stoked antisemitism.
A “global movement for Gaza UK” protest went ahead in London late on Thursday, with police making 40 arrests.
London’s Metropolitan Police asked organisers delay another planned demonstration backing the banned Palestine Action group later on Saturday.
However, organisers Defend Our Juries rejected the calls.
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A spokesman said the group “stood in solidarity” with the Jewish community over the attack.
– Accidental shooting –
Starmer urged protesters not to join the pro-Palestinian rally.
“I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the grief of British Jews. This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain,” he said on X.
During the attack, Shamie was seen “with a big knife, banging his knife into the glass, trying to get through”, synagogue chairman of trustees Alan Levy, who helped barricade the doors, told ITV News.
“The heroes of the congregation who saw what was happening then came to the doors because he was trying to break the doors down to get in,” he added.
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A UK police watchdog, meanwhile, said it would look at the police shooting of Shamie.
The probe would also look at the shooting of a second victim who suffered a fatal gunshot and a third person who was shot but survived.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said there was no evidence anyone other than police used firearms at the scene.
“Our independent investigation will look at the circumstances surrounding the fatal police shooting of Jihad Al-Shamie,” it said in a statement.
“A post mortem has today (Friday) concluded another man who died at the scene suffered a fatal gunshot wound.”
IOPC investigations are standard practice in situations where the use of force by police may have resulted in the death of a member of the public.
News
Edo Inaugurates Committee On Drug Abuse, Healthy Living
Edo State Government has inaugurated Drug Control Committee for the state and local governments, aimed at curbing the menace of drug abuse in the state.
Inaugurating the committee, Governor Monday Okpehbolo said the committee was not only saddled with the responsibility of curbing the menace of illicit substances, but to promote healthier living across communities in the state.
Represented by his deputy, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, Okpebholo described the initiative as “a vital step in our unwavering commitment to stopping the menace of drug trafficking and substance use among youths.”
The governor, who bemoaned the rising tide of drug dependency and its impact on society, pointed out that the committee’s creation aligns with the national drug master plan and represents a bold stride toward protecting Edo future generations.
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On his part, Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, represented by ACGN, Fidelis Cocodia, Zonal Commander, Zone 13, emphasised grassroots interventions, awareness campaigns, and support systems as the backbone of the fight against drug abuse.
Edo State commander of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju disclosed that while national drug use prevalence stands at 14.4 percent, Edo state surpasses the average at 15 percent.
He noted that the state is one of the hardest-hit states in the country, warning that the trend has fueled crime and heightened youth vulnerability.
READ ALSO:Idahosa Lauds Edo Specialist Hospital Facilities
The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Cyril Oshiomhole pledged to make Edo a model in drug control through rehabilitation, youth enlightenment, and second-chance opportunities for recovering addicts.
Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Edo State, Mrs. Edesili Okpebholo Anani, described drug abuse as a pandemic, noting that “you hardly see a crime without drugs being involved.”
She added that women’s empathy and influence must be harnessed in the campaign against drug abuse.
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