Tinubu Nominates Ex-NIA, SSS Chiefs, Former Envoy as Ambassadors to US, UK, France

Tinubu Nominates Ex-NIA, SSS Chiefs, Former Envoy as Ambassadors to US, UK, France

President Bola Tinubu has nominated three non-career ambassadors-designate to head Nigeria’s missions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, The Nation can authoritatively report.

The nominees, whose names were transmitted to the Senate on Wednesday for confirmation, are:

- Ambassador Ayodele Oke – United States  

- Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are – United Kingdom  

- Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu – France  

The appointments mark a continuation of President Tinubu’s practice of appointing seasoned former intelligence and security chiefs to strategic diplomatic postings.

Ambassador Ayodele Oke, a former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), is an alumnus of Emory University, Atlanta. He previously served as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.

Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are, who will be heading to London if confirmed, was Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS) between 1999 and 2007 and briefly served as National Security Adviser in 2010. A First Class Honours graduate in Psychology from the University of Ibadan (1980), he spent much of his military career in the Directorate of Military Intelligence.

Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu, earmarked for Paris, is a career diplomat who served as Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Korea from 2016 until the end of the Buhari administration.

Presidential sources said the choices reflect the administration’s desire to place trusted, high-calibre individuals with deep security and diplomatic experience in three of Nigeria’s most important bilateral relationships.

The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs is expected to schedule the screening of the nominees early in the new legislative session.