A former permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joe Keshi, has faulted the ambassadorial list sent to the Senate by President Bola Tinubu for confirmation.
Keshi questioned the character of some of the nominees, who he claimed should have no business being in the diplomatic service “by any standard”.
“I’m comfortable with some names on the list, but the truth of the matter is that the bulk of the people on the non-career list is a bit disturbing. Are these the kind of people we want to represent Nigeria?
“You have people who, if justice had prevailed and if this country had been run properly, and the rules and the rules of the game are obeyed, actually should be cooling their heels in the walls of the prison and not being sent out as ambassadors,” he said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday.
“You have people who have governed their states. They were absolute failures. They showed no leadership when they led their states, and the governors who took over from them are struggling to repair the damage they’ve done to their states.
“Those are the kind of people being rewarded, either because they have helped you to destroy other political parties, and the rest of it,” he added.
Keshi, however, said he believed there was a conspiracy against a former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayo Oke, which led to his removal as the head of the agency.
According to him, Nigeria needs to send its best hands as ambassadors.
“Look, as far back as the 1960s, when the diplomatic service was established, those who established the diplomatic service, particularly the Prime Minister, were very clear in their mind about the kind of diplomatic service they wanted for Nigeria.
“He [the Prime Minister] wanted a very competent foreign service. He wanted an independent foreign service. He wanted officers of the foreign service to be well trained, to be able to compete favourably with their peers all over the world.
“And the first generation of those recruited into the foreign service, and for a long time, met the criteria until the politicians came and started what they are doing today,” he stated.
