Nigeria’s ambassadorial nominee, Femi Fani-Kayode, has come under renewed criticism after a resurfaced video showed him verbally attacking a Nigerian journalist, calling him “stupid.”
Fani-Kayode’s nomination was announced by President Bola Tinubu on Saturday.
Although the incident occurred in August 2020 during a media tour, it has continued to attract widespread condemnation amid concerns about the conduct of Kayode, who is expected to represent Nigeria on the international stage.
In the video, Fani-Kayode is seen berating a Daily Trust reporter for asking him what he described as a “stupid question.”
The journalist had asked who bankrolled his tour of several southern states.
The former minister, visibly angered by the question, lashed out at the reporter, saying, “What kind of stupid question is that? I will not take questions from this man, bankrolling who, who can give me money to do anything, bankroll what, go and report yourself to your publisher.
“Don’t ever talk to me like that, I could see from your face how stupid you are before you got here.
“You have a small mind, a very small mind, I have been in politics since 1990, I am not one of these politicians. I have been locked up many times, I have been persecuted unlike most of the politicians you follow for brown envelope, you.”
“Don’t ever try that with me, don’t, I will hit you hard, I have a short fuse.” Fani-Kayode told the journalist.
On Saturday, it was reported that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had transmitted a second batch of ambassadorial nominees to the Senate, forwarding 32 additional names just days after submitting an initial list of three.
In two separate letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu urged the Senate to “consider and confirm expeditiously” 15 career ambassadorial nominees and 17 non-career nominees.
This development was disclosed in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, a media aide to President Tinubu, on Saturday.
“There are four women on the career ambassadors’ list and six women on the non-career ambassadors’ list,” it said.
Among the non-career nominees, the Presidency highlighted notable figures including Barrister Ogbonnaya Kalu from Abia; former presidential aide, Reno Omokri (Delta); former INEC Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu; former Ekiti First Lady, Erelu Angela Adebayo; and former Enugu Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Others include Tasiu Musa Maigari, the former speaker of the Katsina House of Assembly, Yakubu N. Gambo, a former Commissioner in Plateau State and former deputy executive secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
Professor Nora Ladi Daduut, a former senator from Plateau; Otunba Femi Pedro, a former deputy governor of Lagos State; Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, a former aviation minister from Osun State; and Barrister Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu from Anambra State are on the nomination list.
Also on the list are former First Lady of Oyo, Fatima Florence Ajimobi, former Lagos Commissioner, Lola Akande, former Adamawa Senator, Grace Bent, former governor of Abia, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, businessman, lawyer and Senator from Ondo State, and the former ambassador of Nigeria to the Holy See, Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu from Benue State.
For career ambassador and high commissioner designates, the President listed: “Enebechi Monica Okwuchukwu (Abia), Yakubu Nyaku Danladi (Taraba), Miamuna Ibrahim Besto (Adamawa), Musa Musa Abubakar (Kebbi), Syndoph Paebi Endoni (Bayelsa), Chima Geoffrey Lioma David (Ebonyi) and Mopelola Adeola-Ibrahim (Ogun).”
The other nominees are Abimbola Samuel Reuben (Ondo), Yvonne Ehinosen Odumah(Edo), Hamza Mohammed Salau (Niger), Ambassador Shehu Barde (Katsina), Ambassador Ahmed Mohammed Monguno (Borno), Ambassador Muhammad Saidu Dahiru (Kaduna), Ambassador Olatunji Ahmed Sulu Gambari (Kawara) and Ambassador Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun).
According to the Presidency, the “new nominees are expected to be posted to countries with which Nigeria maintains excellent and strategic bilateral relations, such as China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, and to Permanent Missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union. All the nominees will know their diplomatic assignments after their confirmation by the Senate.”
Last week, President Bola Tinubu forwarded three ambassadorial nominees: Ambassador Ayodele Oke from Oyo, Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu from Jigawa, and Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are from Ogun.
The three nominees are expected to be posted to key diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom, the United States, or France following their confirmation by the Senate.
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