Public commentator Mahdi Shehu has criticized the Federal Government over a glaring error in President Bola Tinubu’s recent ambassadorial nominations, which included the name of the late Senator Adamu Talba, who passed away in July 2025.
In a post shared on X on Friday, Shehu described the mistake as “sad, scandalous and avoidable”, questioning the diligence of the agencies responsible for vetting nominees.
“This clearly shows everything is being done in a panicky, half-hazard, fire-brigade approach out of fear and in a hurry to please local and foreign influencers so that ‘the lion’ can have some sleep,” he wrote.
Shehu argued that the inclusion of a deceased individual on an official list underscores deep institutional failures. He said the agencies tasked with verifying nominees’ backgrounds failed to conduct even basic checks.
“It shows how agencies responsible for vetting nominees are clearly not doing their job,” he added.
He warned that governments without clear blueprints or action plans, operating in haste and with perceived biases, are prone to repeated failures.
“Regimes that will continue to fail are those that have no blueprint, no action plan, panicky, full of injustice and unfairness, with open bias and hate against those they perceive as enemies,” Shehu said.
He concluded by suggesting that the blunder could be unique enough for the Guinness World Records, emphasizing the magnitude of the oversight.