Last month, Buhari forwarded the list of 47 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, which some senators, state governors and other prominent Nigerians have described as lopsided.
But when Lawal and Onyeama appeared before the Senate on Tuesday, they said that under the prerogative of the President, the list does not need to cover all the 36 states of the federation as it is with ministerial nominees.
The officials spoke when they appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs which summoned them over the exclusion of Ondo, Bayelsa, Ebonyi and Plateau states from the list.
In his explanations, the SGF declared that the list was based on certain criteria and not the other way round and that even at that, 32 of the 36 states of the federation were captured, which showed substantial compliance with the federal character principle.
He said part of the criteria used in the selection of the nominees apart from their records of service, is the compatibility value of the nominee in line with the change agenda of the present administration.
Lawal said: “You must understand the mindset of this government, it’s a change government. It is important that whoever is going to be on board in this government, who is going to play one role or the other must be somebody that we will like to call change compatible; he must establish his integrity, qualification on the job and his ability to deliver on the job.”
He however, along with Onyeama, assured the committee that the four states omitted in the list would be compensated in the non-career ambassadorial list which the President would soon forward to the Senate.
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