Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is unhappy with President Bola Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominees’ list, specifically questioning his inclusion of the immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu. 

PDP’s concerns were contained in a statement by the party’s spokesman, Ini Ememobong, who described the list of 32 ambassadorial nominees as scandalous.

“Specifically, we convey the disappointment of many right-thinking Nigerians on the nomination of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate-past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), whose administration of our electoral umpire was characterised by countless double-speaks, flip-flops, and undelivered promises, which ultimately resulted in the birth of this administration, which is struggling in all areas of governance,” the PDP said on Saturday.

“To offer him an ambassadorial appointment at a time like this is an excellent exemplar of a skewed reward system, which we suspect is designed as an incentive to the new INEC Chairman, to also deliver flawed elections in 2027, in expectation of future rewards. This is absolutely scandalous and completely unacceptable.”

President Tinubu on Saturday sent a list of 32 persons to the Senate for confirmation as career and non-career ambassadors.