The Tinubu/Shettima Diaspora Network (TSDN), an All Progressives Congress (APC) support group has appealed to president-elect Senator Bola Tinubu, to consider loyalty, commitment and competence in selecting those that will form his cabinet.
The group’s director-general Dr Uche Paul Ogbonnaya made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja.
He said there were great Nigerian brains in the Diaspora within the APC willing to come back to the country to contribute to its development if given the opportunity.
He, therefore, advised that loyalty and dedicated party members within and outside the country should be considered in every political appointment because they had worked for the party and the country generally.
Ogbonnaya said this was critical to ensure that Tinubu’s promise of upholding the party’s reward system during the campaigns was kept.
He said that now that the election was over, the president-elect should begin shopping for those that would work with him as ministers and other cabinet members to enable him to hit the ground running after his inauguration on May 29.
Ogbonnaya, however, noted that having Mr Ade Omole, the Director of Diaspora, APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) as the country’s next Foreign Affairs Minister would not be out of place.
He said this was especially because Omole had paid his dues as a loyal and dedicated party man in the APC, in Nigeria and in the Diaspora community.
He described Omole as an experienced diplomat and administrator of resources with executive experience in varying fields spanning management roles in Hewlett Packard, JP Morgan Investment Bank, and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) among others.
“Professionally, Omole is a United Kingdom Defence Ministry NSV-certified Senior Consultant with over 30 years of experience in the International Project Management Industry.
“Having Omole as the country’s next foreign affairs minister will be having a round peg in a round hole.
“Recognised as one of Nigeria’s Diaspora Icons by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) in 2022, Omole is grounded in crisis management and in delivering value-based programmes.
“He is professionally and educationally qualified with a distinction Masters’ Degree in Law specialising in conflict resolution and a Masters’ degree in IT to serve as Foreign Affairs Minister,” Ogbonnaya said.
He added that with a chain of other degrees and certifications, Omole had been involved in leading strategic development assignments, international transition projects and public sector-focused projects.
Ogbonnaya noted that ahead of the Feb. 25, presidential election, Omole travelled the world to campaign for Sen. Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, because of his excellent relationship with the international community.
He added that being a worthy ambassador for Nigeria over the years in the Diaspora, Omole liaised with members of parliament and congresspersons across the board and had a good rapport with Nigerians abroad.
“He is a visionary and goal-oriented techie-savvy executive with demonstrable experience in planning, diplomacy, developing and implementing cutting-edge bespoke initiatives to address governmental and business issues,” Ogbonnaya said.
He added that the APC PCC Director of Diaspora had been a leader of the party for years in the Diaspora and had headed and been part of its several committees, and was a founding leader of the party in the Diaspora.
He recalled that Omole was a member of the APC 2019 Presidential Campaign Council, Diaspora Directorate and APC 2019 Presidential Campaign Council, Communications Directorate.
“He was also the coordinator of the Diaspora United Kingdom 2019 for President Muhammadu Buhari Presidential Support Committee and Assistant Secretary, APC 2022 Accreditation of Volunteers, Diplomats and Diaspora, Observers among others,” Ogbonnaya said.
