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Fresh concerns have emerged over the ambassadorial nominees submitted by President Bola Tinubu, as several host countries may reject or delay approval due to the short time left in the current administration.
Presidency insiders and high-ranking officials in the foreign service disclosed to Sunday Punch that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently battling to secure agrément, the required approval by receiving states, for the nominees, a process now complicated by the 2027 election calendar.
Officials revealed that some receiving countries insist on ambassadors having at least one to two years left tied to the tenure of their nominating governments.
With Nigeria’s next presidential election scheduled for February 2027 and Tinubu’s first term ending in May, several countries are reportedly hesitant.
A senior foreign service official told Sunday PUNCH under anonymity, “The problem we have, which we are trying at the moment to see what we can do about, is that most countries, like India, will tell you that if an ambassador has less than one year or two, they may have issues.
“By the time they get the agrément, some of these ambassadors will have just a few months left. We are trying to see how we can deal with that.”
Under Article 4 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, receiving countries are not obligated to explain rejections of ambassadorial nominees, allowing them to quietly decline for reasons including tenure limitations.
Delayed Nominations Blamed For Diplomatic Vacuum
The current crisis follows the Federal Government’s mass recall of all career and non-career envoys in September 2023, barely four months into Tinubu’s presidency.
The recall affected 109 diplomatic missions — including 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 consulates — with only Nigeria’s permanent representatives to the UN in New York and Geneva exempted.
At the time, the government cited the need for “world-class efficiency and quality” in foreign service delivery.
However, it was not until November 2025, more than 26 months later, that Tinubu began sending names to the Senate for confirmation.
On November 26, 2025, the first batch of three nominees, Ayodele Oke, Amin Dalhatu, and Colonel Lateef Are (retd.), was forwarded to the National Assembly.
Three days later, the President submitted an additional 32 names, comprising 17 non-career diplomats and 15 career officers.
So far, at least 67 nominees have been named for postings in strategic countries, including the United States, France, UK, China, India, UAE, Qatar, South Africa, and global institutions such as the UN, UNESCO, and African Union.
On January 22, 2026, the Presidency confirmed the deployment of Oke as ambassador to France, Are to the United States, and Dalhatu to the United Kingdom.
But foreign ministry officials warn that the delayed nomination process may now hamper acceptance by host nations concerned about the looming end of the Tinubu administration.
Another source explained that the lengthy bureaucratic process might compound the challenge.
“You know, this process is something we would have concluded long ago. But because the announcement was made late last year, they had to go for their screening,” the official said.
The source added that after receiving their postings, ambassadors must attend a mandatory retreat.
They must also collect personalised post reports from the foreign ministry and then wait for agrément from the receiving states.
An official in the foreign service noted that some ambassadors may not commence their tours of duty until August 2026. This would leave them with barely nine months before the next election.
“Some people may not go before August because some countries will take their time to do background checks. When you send the name, sometimes they will respond, ‘Send someone else.’ And when you insist on asking why, they will give you their own report of their background checks.
“Or they may just ignore you for six months. The person will be waiting until you go to their ministry of internal affairs and ask why, to say, ‘we demand to know the reason.’
“Then they will tell you why, based on their background checks. So, it is a long process,” the official disclosed.
The source noted that the background verification at the receiving country must be completed before the prospective ambassador can begin their tour of duty.
Meanwhile, a Presidency official confirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was handling all the processes, including the tenure hurdle.
“As far as I know, everything is now with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The President has given them approval to send names to the countries. It is when those countries accept that we will release a statement saying which country each person is going to,” the source stated.
The official explained that the FG would withhold announcements until an agrément was secured.
“When you say someone is going to a certain country, what if that country asks for a change? They can reject it. In another one or two weeks, we will get more clarity on those who have been accepted,” the source confirmed.
But another foreign ministry official noted that the FG was working to expedite the process.
“It’s concerning to them (nominees) too. But we are working to see if we can fast-track it,” the official assured.
