NIGERIA: In a controversial return to public office, President Bola Tinubu has forwarded the name of former spy-master Ayodele Oke for confirmation as a non-career ambassador, despite long-standing allegations tied to the infamous $43 million loot discovered in an Ikoyi luxury apartment.
The Nigerian Senate has received three ambassadorial nominations from the presidency: Oke (Oyo), Kayode Are (Ogun) and Aminu Dalhatu (Jigawa). The trio’s confirmation process was referred to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee with a one-week timeframe, reports Newsmakers.
The move ends a two-year vacuum in Nigeria’s envoy postings across its 109 diplomatic missions (76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates).
The inclusion of Ayodele Oke’s name has revived memories of the 2017 scandal, when anti-graft agents from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) discovered more than US$43 million hidden in an apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, registered under his wife’s name.
At the time, critics questioned how a security chief could stash such huge sums in a residential flat with minimal transparency.
The case dragged on for years, and was only struck out in 2023 when the EFCC withdrew the prosecution citing “national security interests.”
The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee is scheduled to report on the nomination within a week.
