Obi faults Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominees, says some choices ‘shocking’
Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, has criticised some of the individuals President Bola Tinubu has nominated as ambassadors, describing the list as “shocking”.
On November 29, Tinubu sent 32 ambassadorial nominees to the senate for confirmation, in addition to three names forwarded the previous week.
The list includes Reno Omokri, a former presidential aide; Mahmood Yakubu, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); Femi Fani-Kayode, a former aviation minister; and Okezie Ikpeazu, ex-governor of Abia State.
In a post on X on Monday, Obi said some of the nominees “leave much to be desired”.
“Yes, some of the names being paraded to represent us as ambassadors globally are shocking. But with a leadership that has allowed mediocrity, corruption, and impunity to rise to the top, who else did you expect them to choose?” he asked.
Obi also spoke about the worsening economic hardship affecting millions of Nigerians.
“When our people are being killed, our leaders are busy hosting dinners. When children are being snatched from their schools, the political class is celebrating and dancing,” he added.
“When families cannot afford their next meal, those in power are welcoming defectors and exchanging gifts as though Nigeria is not burning.
“This is not governance. This is not leadership. And this is certainly not the Nigeria we deserve.”
The former Anambra governor said the suffering across the country has become a “pain one carries silently”.
He narrated how a group of young Nigerians approached him at the Abuja airport on Monday, urging him to speak on the nation’s challenges.
“It is the kind of pain that makes you remember the humiliating remark from the American president who referred to Nigeria as a ‘now disgraced country’,” he said.
“Today, when you look around, you begin to understand why the world speaks of us that way.”
