President Bola Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominee, Emmanuel Adeyemi from Ekiti State, in the Senate on Wednesday struggled to name all three senators representing his home state during his screening, which many senators found disappointing.
Adeyemi, a deputy director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with an impressive academic background including a PhD from France, was being screened by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The nominee, who was one of three from Ekiti State (alongside Erelu Angela Adebayo and Olumilua Oluwayemika), initially impressed the panel with his résumé. However, the atmosphere quickly changed when he was asked to name his state’s representatives in the Red Chamber.
Adeyemi confidently named Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele and Senator Yemi Adaramodu but was unable to identify the third senator who is Cyril Fasuyi, prompting his delegation to Google the missing name.
Several senators condemned the unpreparedness of the nominee. They viewed the error as not just a simple oversight, but as a decline in the competence of the nominee, stressing that nominees presented to the international community must be competent enough to project a good image of the country.
Meanwhile, Senator Yunus Akintunde pleaded with the committee to forgive the mistake;
Please let us overlook his mistake and pardon him for not knowing that Ekiti, like other states, has three senators
The incident adds fuel to the debate regarding the caliber of Tinubu’s nominees, with some prominent political stakeholders including Atiku reportedly calling for the President to withdraw the entire list and select more credible people.
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