Women Bodies Rise Against Prof Fasina’s Ambassadorial Nomination, Urge Senate To Decline Confirmation

The nomination of Prof Abayomi Fasina, immediate past Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, (FUOYE), as an Ambassador, by President Bola Tinubu is under threat. Over 200 women organizations moved against the nomination.

Over 200 Women, Civil Society Groups have urged the senate to suspend Fasina’s Ambassadorial confirmation over pending court cases and other unresolved issues while he was serving as VC.

They have petitioned the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on the nomination.

They urged the committee to decline the confirmation of former FUOYE VC as Nigeria’s ambassador pending the determination of ongoing criminal and civil cases against him.

The petition, dated June 25, 2026, was addressed to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio through the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Abubakar Sani Bello.

Signed by Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Co-convener of Womanifesto, on behalf of over 200 organisations and prominent advocates, the petition argued that confirming Fasina while legal proceedings remain pending would undermine public confidence in Nigeria’s accountability institutions and damage the country’s international image.

The coalition revealed that Prof Fasina is facing unresolved allegations bordering on sexual harassment, abuse of office, victimisation, human rights violations and workplace intimidation.

It added that criminal proceedings instituted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), as well as civil matters before the National Industrial Court, are still before competent courts.

According to the petitioners, ambassadorial appointments require individuals of “the highest standards of integrity and impeccable conduct,” stressing that unresolved allegations of such magnitude should be fully determined before any confirmation process proceeds.

They noted that one of the allegations involves an alleged se*ual harassment complaint reportedly supported by a 37-minute audio recording, while other legal proceedings relate to workplace victimisation and abuse of authority.