President Bola Tinubu has nominated three seasoned professionals with extensive security and diplomatic backgrounds as non-career ambassadors to Nigeria's most strategic Western missions. The nominees, pending Senate confirmation, represent a deliberate alignment of diplomatic postings with national security priorities.
Ambassador-Designate Lateef Kayode Are (Retired Colonel)
• Former Director General of the State Security Service (SSS) with eight consecutive years as head of Nigeria's domestic intelligence agency
• Holds M.A. in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos and a First Class B.Sc in Psychology from the University of Ibadan
• Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant through Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Combatant Course 12 in 1974
• Served as Deputy National Security Adviser and briefly as Acting National Security Adviser in 2010
• Brings 33 years of combined military and civilian intelligence experience
Ambassador-Designate Ayodele Oke
• Former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA)
• Studied at Emory University, Atlanta, bringing American academic exposure
• Previously served at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London
• Has prior ambassadorial experience in Nigeria's foreign service
• Brings intelligence community networks and international organizational experience
Ambassador-Designate Amin Mohammed Dalhatu
• Former Nigerian Ambassador to South Korea, appointed in 2016 during the Buhari administration
• Career diplomat with extensive experience in Asian diplomacy
• Understood to have a background in international relations and protocol
• Brings existing ambassadorial experience and intergovernmental networking skills
Sources: BBC News Pidgin, Channels, The Nation
