2 months ago
10 ARTICLE AD
Thirteen months after recalling all career and non-career ambassadors, the Federal Government has yet to appoint replacements, leaving Nigeria without formal representation in 109 diplomatic missions worldwide, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.
In September 2023, President Bola Tinubu recalled 83 ambassadors—both career and non-career—across the globe.
The envoys were required to return to Nigeria by October 31, 2023, as part of the administration’s review of foreign policy.
Despite the urgency of the recall, 13 months after, no new appointments of ambassadors have been made, sparking concerns over Nigeria’s diplomatic and economic engagements abroad.
In April, Tinubu approved the appointment of 12 consuls-general and five chargés d’affaires to represent Nigeria in 14 countries.
However, the delay in appointing new ambassadors has been attributed to funding challenges.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Eche Abu-Ode, said in June that the deployment of ambassadors depended on allocations in a supplementary budget.
“I guess the funds may be included in the supplementary budget, but for now, there is no clear way without funds,” Abu-Ode had said.
However, a top official within the ministry, who spoke anonymously on Saturday, expressed frustration over the continued delay.
“There is silence on the matter. Nobody knows what is going on,” the source said.
An economist, Shadrach Israel, who spoke to our correspondent stressed the importance of ambassadors not just in diplomatic but also in economic matters.
“Many people see the ambassadorial position as political rather than economical. The truth is that if there are no ambassadors in a country, the area of economic gains might be affected.
“For instance, looking at the trade negotiations, if there is no ambassador in a particular country, the president or elected officials in that country might not have who to negotiate with which is a disadvantage to the ambassador’s country,” the economist stated.
A retired Nigerian Ambassador to Mexico, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, echoed these concerns, emphasising that high-level diplomatic engagement operates in a hierarchical order.
“The main consequence of our missions not being headed and run by principal envoys is that where diplomatic interfaces are at the highest levels, Nigeria may be found wanting precisely because diplomatic engagements are undertaken in a strictly hierarchical order,” he warned.
While Charge d’Affaires can temporarily assume duties, Amedu-Ode stressed that they do not have the same authority or influence as full-fledged ambassadors.
