The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday began the screening of career ambassadorial nominees transmitted to the red chamber by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for confirmation.
During the screening at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, a mild drama occurred as one of the nominees, Emmanuel Adeyemi, failed to name all the three senators representing his home state of Ekiti.
The committee members described the development as embarrassing and unacceptable.
Adeyemi, a deputy director in the Office of the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had initially impressed the committee with his academic and diplomatic credentials, including foreign postings in Hong Kong and France, where he earned a PhD.
However, the session shifted sharply when Adeyemi attempted to acknowledge only two senators from his state. He correctly named Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) and Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South), but froze when asked to identify the third senator.
Visibly unsettled, he struggled to recall Senator Cyril Fasuyi (Ekiti North), prompting murmurs among lawmakers as a member of his entourage attempted to secretly Google the missing name.
Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South) condemned the lapse, describing it as symbolic of a deeper concern about the preparedness of public office aspirants. Senators Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North), and Seriake Dickson(PDP, Bayelsa West), echoed his concerns. But Senator Yunus Akintunde, who stood in for Senate Leader Bamidele, appealed for leniency.
Adeyemi is one of three nominees from Ekiti, alongside Erelu Angela Adebayo and Olumilua Oluwayemika.
The committee also screened several other career nominees, including Ahmed Sulu Gambari, Maimuna Besto, Monica Enebechi, Ahmed Monguno, Kingsley Onaga, Magaji Umar and Aminu Nasir.
In a surprise moment, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, a former Ondo State governorship aspirant, appeared before the panel even though he was not originally listed for Wednesday’s session. He was asked to “take a bow and go.”
Wednesday’s session formed the second phase of the screening exercise. Earlier, Kayode Are (Ogun), Aminu Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Ayodele Oke (Oyo) had appeared before the panel.
