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Tinubu Appoints 32 New Ambassadors

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sent the names of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, days after he sent the first batch of three names.

In two separate letters to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu asked the Senate to consider and confirm expeditiously 15 nominees as career ambassadors and 17 nominees as non-career ambassadors.

There are four women on the career ambassadors’ list and six women on the non-career ambassadors’ list.

Among the non-career ambassador designates are Barrister Ogbonnaya Kalu from Abia, a former presidential aide, Reno Omokri (Delta), former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmud Yakubu, former Ekiti first lady, Erelu Angela Adebayo, and former Enugu governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

Others are Tasiu Musa Maigari, the former speaker of the Katsina House of Assembly, Yakubu N. Gambo, a former Commissioner in Plateau State and former deputy executive secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

Professor Nora Ladi Daduut, a former senator from Plateau; Otunba Femi Pedro, a former deputy governor of Lagos State; Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, a former aviation minister from Osun State; and Barrister Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu from Anambra State are on the nomination list.

Also on the list are former First Lady of Oyo, Fatima Florence Ajimobi, former Lagos Commissioner, Lola Akande, former Adamawa Senator, Grace Bent, former governor of Abia, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, businessman, lawyer and Senator from Ondo State, and the former ambassador of Nigeria to the Holy See, Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu from Benue State.

Among the nominees for career ambassador and high commissioner-designates are: Enebechi Monica Okwuchukwu (Abia), Yakubu Nyaku Danladi (Taraba), Miamuna Ibrahim Besto (Adamawa), Musa Musa Abubakar (Kebbi), Syndoph Paebi Endoni (Bayelsa), Chima Geoffrey Lioma David (Ebonyi) and Mopelola Adeola-Ibrahim (Ogun).

The other nominees are Abimbola Samuel Reuben (Ondo), Yvonne Ehinosen Odumah (Edo), Hamza Mohammed Salau (Niger), Ambassador Shehu Barde (Katsina), Ambassador Ahmed Mohammed Monguno (Borno), Ambassador Muhammad Saidu Dahiru (Kaduna), Ambassador Olatunji Ahmed Sulu Gambari (Kawara) and Ambassador Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun).

The new nominees are expected to be posted to countries with which Nigeria maintains excellent and strategic bilateral relations, such as China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, and to Permanent Missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union. All the nominees will know their diplomatic assignments after their confirmation by the Senate.

Last week, President Tinubu sent three ambassadorial nominees for screening and confirmation. The nominees were Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun). All three are in the pot for posting to the UK, USA, or France after their confirmation.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said more nominees for ambassadorial positions will be announced soon.

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Lagos to launch own driver’s license

The driver’s license project, which would be implemented in collaboration with the federal government, is optional for motorists to obtain the Federal license or the new state driver’s license aimed at enhancing safety, sanity, among others, on the roads.

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Photo: Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu

The Lagos State Government is coming out with its owned driver’s license in as part of efforts to ensure sanity and safety on roads across the metropolis.

Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, disclosed this on Monday, at the 2025 annual ministerial briefing, commemorating the seventh year in the second term in office of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Dr. Obafemi, held at Alausa, Ikeja.

According to Osiyemi, the driver’s license project, which would be implemented in collaboration with the federal government, is optional for motorists to obtain the Federal license or the new state driver’s license aimed at enhancing safety, sanity, among others, on the roads.

Osiyemi added that it would ensure prompt issuance, as opposed to the usual delays being experienced with the existing process.

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INEC needs1.4m corps members for 2027 election manpower

The INEC chairman broke down the 2027 deployment figures, saying 707,384 corps members would be required for the Presidential and National Assembly election scheduled for January 16, 2027, and the same number for the Governorship and Houses of Assembly election on February 6, 2027 — bringing the combined total to 1,414,768.

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Photo:INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan and NYSC Director-General Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu. Photo: INEC|X

INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan said on Monday that the Commission needs more than 1.4 million national youth corps members for the 2027 general election.

Amupitan made the disclosure when he paid a courtesy visit to the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu at the corps’ headquarters, Yakubu Gowon House, in Abuja.

” You provide the heartbeat of our field operations. When we speak of election manpower, we are essentially speaking of your corps members.

They are the most dedicated, educated, and patriotic election duty staff we have, and their presence at the polling units brings a level of neutrality and public confidence that is irreplaceable,” Amupitan told the NYSC management team.

The INEC chairman broke down the 2027 deployment figures, saying 707,384 corps members would be required for the Presidential and National Assembly election scheduled for January 16, 2027, and the same number for the Governorship and Houses of Assembly election on February 6, 2027 — bringing the combined total to 1,414,768.

An additional 52,446 corps members would be needed for the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections and bye-elections in Nasarawa, Enugu, Rivers, Ondo, Kebbi, and Kano states.

The figures represent a substantial jump from the 2023 general election, where INEC deployed approximately 1.2 million ad hoc staff in total, with over 70 percent — nearly 850,000 individuals — drawn from NYSC ranks and student volunteers.

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FG introduces compulsory drug tests for secondary school students

The guideline outlines a comprehensive framework aimed at reducing the growing prevalence of substance abuse among students and creating safer learning environments across schools nationwide.

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The federal government is introducing mandatory drug tests for students in secondary schools nationwide.

According to the new policy, all newly enrolled secondary school students will be subject to mandatory drug integrity testing at the moment of entry.

The directive is contained in the National Implementation Guidelines Against Drug and Substance Use in Schools in Nigeria for secondary schools.

The guideline outlines a comprehensive framework aimed at reducing the growing prevalence of substance abuse among students and creating safer learning environments across schools nationwide.

According to the document, the policy is designed to “create a conducive environment for teaching and learning in the institutions by reducing the negative effect substance abuse has on the mental health and academic performance of students/learners.”

The guideline states that “all new students/learners shall be subjected to drug tests and other measures approved by the schools/learning centres at the point of entry,” adding that the process must be carried out “in collaboration with approved federal/state health facilities and procedures.”

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