The President Bola Tinubu is vetting potential candidates to fill diplomatic roles in its 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 global consulates.

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 also 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.

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.”

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.

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.

“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.

“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 declined comment.

They also did not confirm or deny the report.

A former Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority, Chief George Moughalu, has emerged as the candidate of the Labour Party ahead of the November 8, 2025, Anambra State governorship poll.

Moughalu polled a total of 573 votes to defeat his only rival, John Nwosu, who got 19 votes, at the primary held at Finotel Hotel, Awka, on Saturday.

The primary which was witnessed by the Independent National Electoral Commission and some electoral observers, was had 649 delegates out of which 601 persons were accredited with a record of 592 valid votes cast and five invalid votes.

In his acceptance speech, Moughalu extended a hand of fellowship to his opponent, noting that with unity among the stakeholders, their victory would be assured during the November poll.

Moughalu said he was battle-ready to defeat the incumbent governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, adding that his capacity and experience in public service and politics were a sure bet.

He said, “I thank the party for ensuring a level playing field. And I thank the people for the confidence they repose in the party. We have to go to work to sell the Labour Party agenda that it is for the benefit of the whole Anambra people. We must set our agenda and ensure it reaches all the books and crannies of the state.

“Anambra is a blessed state, it is not lacking in human and natural resources. All we need to do is to ensure a level playing field by harnessing the potential for the good of the state.

“I am going to inspire confidence in the party as we march on towards the governorship race. We have a task of rebuilding the state and ensuring the people are given a voice. The Labour Party is still a strong force to be reckoned with, and we are going like a moving train to better Anambra.”

The Returning Officer, Bennett Etanabena, commended the peaceful process of the primary and urged all stakeholders to work for the party.

“Anambra is a Labour Party state, we have two senators already, and available statistics indicate that Anambra is destined to produce the next President come 2027, and by virtue of that, this state will surely produce the next governor,” Etanabena added.

The Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has emerged as the flagbearer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance for the November 8, 2025, governorship election in the state.

Soludo was returned unopposed by no fewer than 3,260 delegates of the party during its primary conducted at the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, on Saturday.

The governor, who was the only aspirant of the party, also retained his current deputy, Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim, as his running mate.

Announcing the results, the returning officer for the election, Uche Nwegbo, said the total delegates were 3,260, while 3,175 were accredited to vote and four votes were invalid

Nwegbo said, “Total delegates for this election is 3,260, 3,175 are accredited delegates, 3,172 is the total votes, while 0 4 votes were invalid.

“The total yes-votes garnered by the governor is 3,168, while there were no no-votes. So, in line with the INEC guidelines and with the powers conferred on me as the chief returning officer for this election, I, Uche Nwegbo, hereby declare the governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, as returned, as the candidate of our party.”

The governor, in his acceptance speech, assured the party faithful that he will continue to work hard for the people of Anambra State.

He said, “We as a party have grown from strength to strength. We are the first registered progressive party in Nigeria, and our people have taken APGA as their own. Anambra is APGA and APGA is Anambra.

“I want to say that I am humbled by this historic display of solidarity to be able to raise the flag of our party again, and I want to say that I accept this nomination wholeheartedly.

“Anambra keeps rising with the progressive leadership that we have had through APGA, and I will continue to appreciate the leadership of the party.

“I appreciate the members of our party and the INEC observers. I do not think that we have ever had this kind of peaceful election where everything was orderly and in one hour everyone was able to cast their votes.

“In 2021, Anambra interviewed all the candidates and employed me, and all through the journey, three years down the line, you have been able to give us support. That is why we have been able to do what we do, which people say is magical. We are doing this without borrowing one Naira, and I know we will continue to do even more, and we continue to ask for your prayers.

“We are only at the introductory stage; Anambra has not seen anything yet. I appreciate the citizens and captains of industries who have been supporting us, and we will keep growing higher and higher.

“I appreciate the support groups, especially all that endorsed us for a second term. They are still coming up with more donations to the campaigns, and I thank those market women who are still eager to donate to our campaign. Many political parties have declared support for us, and never in Anambra State have we ever had a consensus like what we have today.

“When I took oath of office, I promised not to let Anambra down, not to let my supporters down, not to let my family down, and not to let APGA down. We are working 247 to ensure that. Many people have said we do not have any opposition, but I say that we will not only win all 21 local governments but also the 326 wards. Someone said we should even aim for all the polling units in the state. We want to make a statement.”

The governor, who also announced his running mate immediately after clinching the party’s ticket, said he would retain his current deputy as his running mate for the race.

“In 2017, I gave a lecture which I titled ‘If it is not broken, why mend it’, and it became popular. Today, I want to say that I am renominating Dr Onyeka Ibezim as my deputy governorship candidate for the election. If it is not broken, why mend it? I want to say that the battle has only begun,” he added.