Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Ahead of Tuesday’s resumption of plenary by the National Assembly, the Senate has said it won’t be in a hurry to confirm immediate past service chiefs as non-career ambassadors.
President Muhammadu Buhari had last week sent the names of the former service chiefs to the Senate for confirmation as non-career ambassadors barely nine days after they resigned from their respective positions.
The ambassador-designates are retired Defence Chief, Abayomi Olonisakin; former Army Chief, Lieutenant Tukur Buratai; former Naval Chief, Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas and former Air Chief, Sadique Abubakar.
Speaking with journalist on Monday, Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abubakar Abdulllahi, disclosed that the letter from President Buhari would be read on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday. He, however, disclosed that the former service chiefs would be subjected to screening by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs before their confirmation.
He said:” We promised to reconvene on January 26th but because of the registration being undertaken by the All Progressives Congress (APC), we had to extend our resumption by about two weeks.
“Now that we are resuming, some of the issues you have raised about the nomination of the service chiefs as ambassadors, I think we have not actually brought it to the floor of the Senate yet. Communication would be read hopefully by the Senate President tomorrow and whatever happens, we will pass it on to the Committee on Foreign Affairs which will now do its deliberation.
“As leader of the Senate, this will be brought to the floor of the Senate. The committee will do its work and after that, they will bring the report to the Senate. I am sure all the questions will not escape the committee. I don’t want to preempt them. Let them do what is just and right and let the apply all the criteria for appointment of ambassadors for the country.”
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