President Bola Tinubu is set to conclude the appointment of ambassadors to Nigeria’s foreign missions worldwide after months of diplomatic gaps and growing pressure over the country’s absence of envoys abroad.
Multiple Presidency officials familiar with the development told newsmen that the President had ordered a “final cleanup” of the list of nominees ahead of its release.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to comment publicly.
“It is going to be concluded very soon,” one senior official said
The official explained, “They are just cleaning it up now because since the time the President sent it to the Senate, some people on that list have died, and some have retired and are no longer eligible for appointment. Some of them have less than one year left in service.”
He added that the Senate had already screened the nominees, noting that the cleanup was to ensure that no one due for retirement remained on the list.
The development comes more than two years after Tinubu’s September 2023 decision to recall all ambassadors from Nigeria’s 109 foreign missions comprising 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 consulates as part of a “comprehensive diplomatic review.”
Since then, most missions have been headed by chargés d’affaires or senior consular officers with limited authority to represent Nigeria in formal negotiations.
The push to conclude the ambassadorial appointments comes amid recent diplomatic tension following comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened military intervention in Nigeria over alleged killings of Christians.
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