The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the recent announcement of ambassadorial postings, describing the development as a diplomatic error that could expose Nigeria to unnecessary embarrassment on the international stage.
President Tinubu on Friday approved the posting of 65 career and non-career ambassadors to different countries across the world. However, the opposition party said the manner in which the announcement was made raises serious concerns about the government’s understanding of diplomatic procedures.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party argued that the government failed to follow the proper diplomatic process before making the appointments public.
“After nearly three years in office, and three months after the Senate confirmation of the ambassadors, today’s announcement by the State House puts the cart before the horse and demonstrates the Tinubu administration’s inability to grasp the basic protocol of diplomatic relations,” Abdullahi said.
He explained that under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, countries must first obtain the consent of the receiving nation, known as agrément, before publicly announcing the appointment of an ambassador.
“By announcing appointments and then requesting consent, it indicates that the government does not know what it is doing. You cannot announce postings and say in the same statement that you are just requesting agrément,” he stated.
Abdullahi warned that the approach could lead to diplomatic embarrassment if any host country refuses to accept a nominee after the announcement has already been made.
“This absurdity becomes even more apparent when one considers that the receiving country reserves the right to accept or reject a nomination after conducting its due diligence. It is in order to save the sending country the embarrassment that a rejection may cause that the process is usually done behind the scenes,” he said.
The ADC spokesman also questioned why the government waited several months after the Senate confirmed the ambassadors before seeking approval from host countries.
“The question to ask is: why did it take the government more than three months after nominating these ambassadors before now requesting consent?” he asked.
He further criticised the incomplete nature of the announcement, noting that Nigeria operates 109 diplomatic missions worldwide but only 65 ambassadors were named.
“Nigeria maintains 109 diplomatic missions around the world, yet the government has only announced 65 ambassadors. What happens to the remaining 44 missions?” Abdullahi queried.
He added that leaving many diplomatic posts vacant could weaken Nigeria’s global presence at a time when international engagement is crucial.
“The Tinubu government has 449 days left. This may be the first administration in Nigeria so incompetent that it could not even appoint ambassadors at a time Nigeria needs to sit at the table at the highest levels of global governance,” he said.
The party urged the government to handle diplomatic matters more carefully to avoid damaging Nigeria’s reputation abroad.
