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The Digest:

The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee has cleared three high-profile nominees, including former intelligence chiefs Ayodele Oke and Kayode Are, for ambassadorial postings following a session that forced a reckoning with past operational controversies.

Key Points:
  • The Senate committee cleared former NIA DG Ayodele Oke, ex-DSS DG Kayode Are, and former envoy Aminu Dalhatu.
  • The screening focused intensely on national security records and past controversies linked to the nominees.
  • Ayodele Oke directly addressed the 2017 Ikoyi affair, where $43 million linked to the NIA was discovered.
  • He stated the controversial operation had presidential approval and was for national security, bearing the scandal "with equanimity."
  • Oke credited his 38-year career to the principles of "God, country, and honour."
  • Committee members commended his explanations, acknowledging the sensitivity of intelligence matters.
  • Committee Chair Sani Bello praised the nominees as "a very good choice" and recommended their confirmation.
This clearance represents more than a job change; it is an institutional passage where seasoned operatives are rehabilitated from the storms of past covert battles to become the public face of the nation's foreign engagement.

Sources: The Cable, Punch