Chief Timipre Sylva, former Minister of State for Petroleum, has written to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) asking the commission to give him a date for his appearance.

The former Governor of Bayelsa State in a letter he personally signed and addressed to the Chairman of the commission particularly frowned at the move by the EFCC to declare him wanted over an alleged $14.8million fraud.

Sylva in the letter dated November 24th but was received and acknowledged by the EFCC on November 26th and made available to newsmen on Wednesday, however, informed the commission that he was currently receiving an urgent medical care for a life-threatening condition.

He said that he was deeply surprised and profoundly unsettled to learn through a public announcement that he had been declared wanted despite his well-known disposition towards cooperation with lawful authorities.

The letter reads:”In view of the foregoing, I most humbly request that a mutually agreed date be set subject to medical clearance to enable me appear physically and formally.

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday nominated three non-career ambassadors to the United States of America, UK, and France, and urges the Senate to confirm the appointments .

The nominees are Kayode Are of Ogun state, Aminu Dalhatu of Jigawa state, and Ayodele Oke of Oyo state.

Tinubu made the request in a letter addressed to the Senate and read on Wednesday, November 26 by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said: that the postings will be finalised following Senate screenings.

“Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu previously served as Nigeria’s ambassador to South Korea during President Buhari’s administration, having been first appointed in 2016.“

Ambassador Ayodele Oke, an alumnus of Emory University in Atlanta, is a former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and previously served as Nigeria’s ambassador to the Secretariat of the Commonwealth of Nations in London.

“Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are was Director General of the State Security Service (SSS) from 1999 to 2007, served as National Security Adviser in 2010, and was an officer in the Directorate of Military Intelligence.

He graduated with First Class Honours in Psychology from the University of Ibadan in 1980.”

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is among dozens of African leaders stranded in Guinea-Bissau after the military seized power and suspended the country’s electoral process on Wednesday.

Jonathan is part of a 36-member joint election observation mission of the African Union (AU), ECOWAS and the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) deployed to monitor Sunday’s presidential election.

The coup unfolded after both incumbent President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, Fernando Dias, separately claimed victory even though the electoral commission had not released official results.

Soldiers subsequently took control of state institutions, closed all borders and shut down airports.

In a joint statement, the observer mission said it was “deeply concerned” about the military intervention, calling it “regrettable” that the takeover came shortly after meeting the two top candidates, who had assured them they would respect the will of the voters.The mission urged the AU and ECOWAS to take urgent steps to restore constitutional order and demanded the immediate release of all detained officials.

The delegation is scheduled to depart Guinea-Bissau on November 29, though it is unclear whether the airport shutdown will affect their exit.

(Business Day)