Our Reporter, Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his administration’s continued delay in appointing ambassadors to Nigeria’s foreign missions, calling it a “diplomatic disaster” that threatens the country’s global standing and the welfare of its citizens abroad.
In a statement released on Sunday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC described the prolonged absence of ambassadors as “unprecedented and damaging,” noting that it has been two years since President Tinubu recalled all 109 Nigerian envoys without naming replacements.
“This is the longest Nigeria has gone without accredited ambassadors,” the statement read.
“If this embarrassing absence is allowed to continue, other countries may begin to downgrade Nigeria’s diplomatic standing, and ordinary Nigerians will bear the brunt.”
The party cited recent tensions with countries such as the United States and the United Arab Emirates, particularly over visa restrictions and consular delays, as evidence of the vacuum in Nigeria’s foreign relations. According to the ADC, junior diplomats or chargé d’affaires cannot substitute for the authority and access granted to full ambassadors.
“While the world is busy forging alliances and sealing investment deals, Nigeria isn’t even in the room. We are absent in global conversations that affect our economic and geopolitical interests because we lack the necessary diplomatic presence,” Abdullahi stated.
The party also criticised the administration’s handling of a reported U.S. request for Nigeria to accept deported Venezuelans, noting that the situation highlighted the consequences of diplomatic absence. The ADC slammed the Minister of Foreign Affairs for addressing the issue on a public television show, calling the move “reckless” and unbefitting of a serious diplomatic engagement.
“While the Tinubu administration takes its sweet time deciding which cronies to reward with ambassadorial postings, Nigerians abroad—from students to workers—are left to suffer indignities without adequate consular support,” the party lamented.
The ADC warned that the government’s diplomatic inertia could lead other nations to downgrade their missions in Nigeria in retaliation. It urged the president to act swiftly, stressing that failure to do so would further isolate the country at a time when it should be aggressively pursuing economic diplomacy.
“President Tinubu should appoint ambassadors now to save Nigeria any further foreign policy embarrassment,” the statement concluded.
