The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the Federal Government’s announcement of ambassadorial postings, warning that the move could expose Nigeria to diplomatic embarrassment and undermine its global standing.
In a statement issued on Friday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party said announcing the appointments before obtaining approval from host countries deviates from established diplomatic procedures.
The ADC argued that the process of securing agrément (the consent of the receiving state) is a core principle of international diplomacy and should ordinarily be completed before any public announcement.
“Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, particularly Article 4, a sending state must first obtain the consent, known as agrément, of the receiving state before officially appointing or announcing a head of mission”, the party said.
It further stated: “By announcing appointments and then requesting consent, it indicates that the government does not know what it is doing. You cannot announce postings and then state in the same statement that you are only requesting agrément”.
The party added that diplomatic practice is designed to prevent embarrassment in cases where a host country declines a nomination, stressing that such processes are typically handled discreetly through official channels.
Beyond procedural concerns, the ADC also questioned the number of ambassadors announced compared to Nigeria’s total diplomatic missions.
“Equally troubling is the incomplete nature of the announcement itself. Nigeria maintains 109 diplomatic missions worldwide, yet the government has announced only 65 ambassadors”, the statement said.
It asked what plans exist for the remaining missions, questioning whether they would remain without substantive heads of mission at a time of increasing global challenges.
The party also referenced previous ambassadorial announcements, urging the government to review its approach and ensure compliance with diplomatic norms.
“After the blunder of similarly announcing postings to the UK, the United States and France last year, including sending an unscreened ambassador to Turkey, we would have expected the government to learn its lessons and course-correct”, the ADC said.
The party further queried the delay in seeking consent from host countries months after the nominees were confirmed, asking why the process was not completed earlier in line with international standards.
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