The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, has cleared the air surrounding the recent ambassadorial list compiled by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking at an interactive session with journalists at the weekend, Lawal explained that there were criteria set by the government to pick the nominees.
Lawal added that President Muhammadu Buhari followed due process in drawing up a list of ambassadorial nominees, contrary to the fears of the senate.
“Out of 36 states and the federal capital territory, while the constitution preaches federal character, it does not say that every state must be represented in any appointment, except of course in the case of ministers.
“Not in all other appointments, so the spirit of the constitution has been fully satisfied by having 32 ambassadors out of 36 plus one (FCT). I believe that every objective analyst will agree with this,” he said.
Lawal also expressed regrets that four states didn’t make it in one way or the other, but maintained that it was “not necessarily on the criteria of seniority”.