Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has defended one of the President’s non-career ambassadorial nominees, Amb. Ayodele Oke, stating that he has been cleared of all corruption allegations following his removal as Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in 2017.
Amb. Oke was previously implicated in a cash scandal involving $43 million, £27,800, and ₦23 million found in a private apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos State, in 2017. The then President Muhammadu Buhari subsequently removed Oke from office, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed money laundering charges against him and his wife. Oke later left the country and had remained out of the public eye until his recent nomination.
President Tinubu forwarded the names of three non-career ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, including Kayode Are (Ogun State), Aminu Dalhatu (Jigawa State), and Ayodele Oke (Oyo State). The nominations, made in line with Section 171 (1), (2)(c), and (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), were read during Wednesday’s plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Akpabio subsequently referred the nominations to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, directing the panel to screen the nominees and submit its report within a week. He also indicated that additional nominations were expected soon.
The nomination of Amb. Oke has drawn criticism from netizens and civil society groups, citing his past money laundering case and urging the Senate to reject his confirmation.
In response, Onanuga took to Facebook on Saturday to defend Oke, emphasizing that he had been cleared of all charges. Onanuga referred critics to a recent piece highlighting that Oke was the victim of an orchestrated media trial and that investigations had exonerated him.
He wrote: “Sahara Reporters and other knee-jerked rights groups should read this exculpatory piece on Ambassador Oke. He was once a victim of an orchestrated media trial, who was betrayed by his NIA agency. He was cleared after several years of diligent investigation. Again, he is being subjected to another media trial. Let the media get their facts right and stop the lynching of an innocent man.”
The Senate is now expected to commence its screening of the three nominees in the coming week.
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