President Bola Ahmed 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 absence of envoys abroad.
Multiple Presidency sources confirmed that the President has ordered a final clean up of the ambassadorial list ahead of its public release.
“It is going to be concluded very soon,” a senior State House official said, adding that the revised list is undergoing last-minute adjustments.
According to the source, the clean up became necessary following the death, retirement, or ineligibility of some earlier nominees who had been screened by the Senate.
“The list was returned to the Presidency long ago. Some nominees have died, others have retired or taken up other appointments. The cleanup ensures only those still eligible remain on the list,” the official explained.
Another source disclosed that security and background vetting had been completed months earlier but required updating to reflect the new realities.
“It’s essentially a review process. Once finalized, it won’t take more than a week to reverify the new names,” the source added.
The move comes more than two years after Tinubu’s September 2023 recall of all Nigerian ambassadors from the country’s 109 foreign missions — comprising 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 consulates — for what the Presidency then described as a comprehensive diplomatic review.
Since the recall, most Nigerian missions have been managed by chargés d’affaires or senior consular officers with limited diplomatic authority.
“The truth is that foreign governments do not accord chargés d’affaires the same recognition as ambassadors,” a senior Foreign Service officer said. “At a time like this, with rising diplomatic demands, Nigeria urgently needs full representation abroad.”
The renewed push for ambassadorial appointments also follows recent diplomatic tensions sparked by former U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of military action against Nigeria over alleged attacks on Christians.
Trump, in a controversial post on Friday, labelled Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” and warned of possible military intervention if the government failed to curb the killings — a claim the Nigerian government has since dismissed as baseless and “a failure of U.S. intelligence.”
