Former governors of Abia and Enugu states, Okezie Ikpeazu and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Senator Shehu Sani and ex-aide of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, are reportedly among those nominated for ambassadorial appointment by the federal government.
Vanguard reports that they were among those being screened by security agents, pending the release of the list. Recall that the country’s ambassadors were recalled from their postings almost a year ago without replacement, fuelling concerns over what that would have on Nigeria’s diplomacy.
Although one of the appointees confirmed his appointment on grounds of anonymity, efforts to get others to do same proved abortive.
On why the names of the appointees had not been released, a Presidency official was quoted as saying
‘’They (those appointed) are already doing security checks with the Department of State Service, 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 we should have a list before the end of this month.’’