PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has sent 32 names to the Senate for confirmation as ambassadors. The list mixes 15 career diplomats with 17 political appointees, and within hours X was on fire. Hashtags like #WhoDidThisToUs, #AmbassadorialScandal and #TinubuList trended nationwide as ordinary citizens, activists and even some politicians voiced shock and anger.
The fury centres on who made the list and why now. It includes Mahmood Yakubu, the former INEC chairman whose 2023 election remains bitterly disputed; Femi Fani-Kayode and Reno Omokri, both former fierce critics of Tinubu who later became loud supporters; former PDP governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu, who left their states heavily in debt; plus former first ladies, a billionaire senator and several allies who lost elections or stepped down amid controversy.
One user wrote: “Rewarding Prof. Yakubu after the 2023 election controversy is the final insult. We deserve better!” Another added: “This list is a travesty – fraudsters are rewarded while the rest of us suffer.”
The timing has made the anger explosive. Fuel is over ₦1,200 per litre, a bag of rice costs more than many monthly salaries, and the naira has crashed.
While the government insists there is no money for subsidies or relief, it is preparing to send 32 people and their families abroad on dollar salaries, free houses, free schooling and diplomatic immunity.
One popular post captured the mood: “They rigged, they insulted, they failed – now they get paradise abroad while we queue for fuel.”
Many Nigerians see the list as proof that political loyalty, not competence or service, is what gets rewarded.
Several nominees have no known diplomatic experience, yet they are heading to key countries like China, the UAE and the UN. One person tweeted:
“You can never see people with integrity around Tinubu. Surrounds himself with people like him.” Another simply wrote: “The decay is now international.”
The Senate is widely expected to clear the list quickly because beneficiaries cut across APC and PDP.
For millions of citizens, however, the message is painfully clear: those close to power will always land softly, no matter the past, while everyone else struggles harder.
That single contrast has turned a routine announcement into the latest symbol of why so many Nigerians feel let down.