President Bola Tinubu has transmitted the names of three non-career ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, the first such list since assuming office on May 29, 2023.
The nominees are Kayode Aare from Ogun State, Aminu Dalhatu from Jigawa State, and Ayodele Oke from Oyo State.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the president’s letter during plenary on Wednesday and referred the nominees to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, directing the panel to report back within one week.
Calls for ambassadorial appointments
Tinubu’s nominations come amid renewed pressure on the presidency to fill vacant ambassadorial and high commissioner positions. Concerns intensified recently following public commentary on the impact of the vacancies on Nigeria’s foreign missions.
Former Minister of External Affairs Bolaji Akinyemi had stressed that, despite advancements in digital communication, diplomacy still relies heavily on personal engagement through ambassadors. He argued that credible individuals must be appointed to the vacant posts, noting that while access to information is easy, “diplomacy runs on ambassadorial contact, the interaction between governments and ambassadors.”
Ministry: Appointments are not political patronage
In June, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs pushed back against criticism particularly from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over delays in ambassadorial appointments. The ministry insisted that Nigeria’s foreign missions were functioning effectively under experienced chargé d’affaires and career diplomats. It stressed that ambassadorial postings must be guided by merit, competence, national interest, and strategic alignment, not political expediency.
“The appointment of ambassadors is a sovereign function not a matter to be rushed for political convenience or partisan appeasement,” the ministry said in a statement issued by Alkasim Abdulkadir, Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy to the Foreign Affairs Minister.
The ministry also acknowledged longstanding structural and financial challenges affecting Nigeria’s foreign missions, including unpaid salaries and debts, adding that many of these issues predate the current administration.
President Tinubu recalled all Nigerian ambassadors in September 2023, shortly after assuming office. Before then, he had recalled Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sarafa Tunji Ishola, who was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021.
