Senate Rejects Ondo State Nominee

The Senate yesterday rejected one of the nominee from Ondo State, Mr. Jacob Igbekele Daodu.

Their nominations were rejected following adverse report of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on two out of the 47 nominees.

This is just as the Senate approved a retired justice of the Supreme Court, Justice George Oguntade and 44 other non-career ambassadorial nominees earlier forwarded by President Muhammadu Buhari in January this year for legislative approval.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu (APC Oyo Central), which screened the nominees, presented its report at the plenary and was adopted by the lawmakers.

Senator Sunmonu said the Committee decided to reject Justice Nsofor because he looked frail and tired while his responses to the issues raised during screening were either not answered or devoid of details and mostly satirical.

Senator Sunmonu also said that Daodu failed to give satisfactory answers during screening exercise of the committee; besides, there was alleged negative security report against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).

“During the screening exercise the nominee did not have direct bearing to the issues raised and were not satisfactory to the

committee’s expectation. Besides, there is an adverse report on the nominee’s suitability for appointment as ambassador”, the committee chairman stated.

Those successful at the committee’s screening and consequently approved by the senate include: Justice George Adesola Oguntade (from Lagos), Uzoma Emenike (Abia), Aminu Iyawa (Adamawa), Maj Gen Godwin Umoh (rtd) (Akwa Ibom), Christopher Okeke (Anambra), Yusuf Maitama Tuggar (Bauchi), Baba Madugu (Bauchi), Stanley Diriyai (Bayelsa), Stephen Ugba (Benue) Baba Ahmad Jidda (Borno) Etubom Asuquo (Cross River), Frank Efeduma (Delta), Jonah Odo (Ebonyi), and Uyagwe Igbe from Edo State.

Others are: Eniola Ajayi (Ekiti), Chris Eze (Enugu), Suleiman Hassann (Gombe), Amin Dalhatu (Jigawa), Ahmed Bamilli and Deborah Iliya (both from Kaduna), Prof D. Abdulkadir and Haruna Ungogo (both from Kano), Justice Isa Dodo and Mohammadu Rimi Barade (both from Katsina), and Tijani Bande from Kebbi State.