Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, has slammed President Bola Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominees, maintaining the list breaches the federal character principle and should be swiftly withdrawn before the Senate screening next week.
In a statement on Saturday, Ndume.said that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
He said that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Ndume said.
He said such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” added Ndume.
