A former permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joe Keshi, has joined the growing list of stakeholders to criticize the ambassadorial list sent to the Senate by Bola Ahmed Tinubu for confirmation.
Speaking in a televised interview monitored by Gistcore reporter, Keshi questions the intergrity of some of the nominees, who he claimed should have no business being in the diplomatic service by any standard.
“I’m comfortable with some names on the list, but the truth of the matter is that the bulk of the people on the non-career list is a bit disturbing. Are these the kind of people we want to represent Nigeria?
“You have people who, if justice had prevailed and if this country had been run properly, and the rules and the rules of the game are obeyed, actually should be cooling their heels in the walls of the prison and not being sent out as ambassadors,”
“You have people who have governed their states. They were absolute failures. They showed no leadership when they led their states, and the governors who took over from them are struggling to repair the damage they’ve done to their states.
“Those are the kind of people being rewarded, either because they have helped you to destroy other political parties, and the rest of it,” he added.
According to him, Nigeria needs to send its best hands as ambassadors if the country is to improve its image on the global stage.
“Look, as far back as the 1960s, when the diplomatic service was established, those who established the diplomatic service, particularly the Prime Minister, were very clear in their mind about the kind of diplomatic service they wanted for Nigeria.
“He [the Prime Minister] wanted a very competent foreign service. He wanted an independent foreign service. He wanted officers of the foreign service to be well trained, to be able to compete favourably with their peers all over the world.
“And the first generation of those recruited into the foreign service, and for a long time, met the criteria until the politicians came and started what they are doing today,” he stated.
Tinubu had last Saturday released a list of 32 persons nominated to serve as ambassadors in Nigeria’s foreign missions.
READ ALSO: Confusion Rocks Senate Over Omokri’s Nomination As Past ‘Drug Baron’ Remark About Tinubu Sparks Feud
They included a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu; former governors of Enugu and Abia states, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu; a former minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, and a former presidential aide, Reno Omokri.
The Former Lagos State Governor had earlier sent the names of Oke, Amin Dalhatu, and Colonel Lateef Are (retd.) to the Senate for confirmation.
SOURCE: Channels TV
Leave a Reply