Tinubu appoints former security chiefs, diplomat as ambassadors

President Bola Tinubu has appointed three non-career ambassadors and asked the Senate to confirm the appointment. Tinubu made the request in a letter addressed to the Senate and read on Wednesday by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The nominees are Kayode Are from Ogun State, Aminu Dalhatu from Jigawa and Ayodele Oke from Oyo State. The […]

President Bola Tinubu has appointed three non-career ambassadors and asked the Senate to confirm the appointment.

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

The nominees are Kayode Are from Ogun State, Aminu Dalhatu from Jigawa and Ayodele Oke from Oyo State.

The newly announced set of ambassadors features a list of some of the country’s most familiar names in security and foreign affairs.

From a former Director General of the State Security Service to a onetime head of the National Intelligence Agency and an experienced career diplomat, the nominees bring long years of service from different government departments in their new positions.

Lateef Kayode Are

Born in 1955, Are’s most prominent national assignment came in May 1999 when he was appointed Director General of the State Security Service. He remained in the position for eight consecutive years, making him the longest serving DG in the history of the SSS. His tenure spanned the administrations of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, covering the early and sensitive years of Nigeria’s return to democratic governance. In 2010, he became Deputy National Security Adviser.

Amin Muhammad Dalhatu

A career diplomat from Jigawa State, Dalhatu spent decades in the Nigerian Foreign Service before becoming Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, a position he held from around 2017 to 2023.

During that period, he oversaw Nigeria’s relations with South Korea, handled consular responsibilities and promoted cooperation in trade, technology, culture and investment. His earlier work within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, though not all publicly detailed, helped shape his understanding of Nigeria’s foreign policy and international partnerships. His new posting places a seasoned diplomat back in frontline representation.

Ayo Oke

Oke is the former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency. Before his appointment as NIA DG in 2013, Oke had served as Nigeria’s representative to the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. His time at the agency, however, became controversial in 2017 when investigators discovered more than $43 million in an apartment in Ikoyi. The development led to his suspension and eventual removal from office.

In 2023, the legal case against him was discontinued by the Federal Government on grounds of national security, and the Federal High Court struck it out after a request from the prosecution. His return to public service as an ambassador places him once again in the national spotlight.