By: Ayooluwa Ayobami
A light-hearted moment unfolded during the Senate screening of Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.
Last week, President Bola Tinubu submitted the names of seven ministerial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the request in the upper chamber, marking a notable change, for the first time since 1999, the president disclosed the specific roles assigned to the nominees, breaking from the past practice of withholding this information.
The nominees scheduled for screening included Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda, Muhammadu Dingyadi, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Yusuf Ata, Idi Maiha, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole and Suwaiba Ahmad.
When it was Ojukwu’s turn, she presented her credentials and highlighted her achievements before Akpabio opened the floor for questions.
Senator Osita Ngwu, representing Enugu West, expressed his desire to speak and began by complimenting the nominee’s beauty, which drew reactions from his colleagues.
“Mr President, the beautiful nominee standing before us today is…” Ngwu began, only to be interrupted by Akpabio, who advised, “Restrict yourself to the resume. Forget this word beautiful. She didn’t put in her CV that she is beautiful.”
This remark sparked laughter among the other senators.
During her screening, Ojukwu, the widow of former Biafran leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, revealed that she chose to stay in a hotel for a year due to the poor condition of the Nigerian embassy in Madrid while being the Nigerian Ambassador to Spain.
She said: “I would like to say that my past records speak for me. As an ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain, I spent an entire year in one hotel room because when I got to Spain, the mission building was in such an appalling condition.
“The embassy was located very close to the upscale estate of Galagao, where people would pass by on their way to various events and matches. It was disheartening that this decadent structure represented Nigeria in such a prestigious area. The Nigerian embassy in Madrid that you see today is the product of my time in that country.”
