The Federal Government has concluded the vetting of persons nominated to fill diplomatic roles in its 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates globally, The PUNCH confirmed.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the process told The PUNCH that the relevant agencies had completed security and background checks on each nominee. However, the President, who is expected to transmit a consolidated list to the National Assembly earlier in the week, has yet to do so.
On April 2, President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja for Paris, France, on a two-week working visit.
“During the visit, the President will appraise his administration’s mid-term performance and assess key milestones,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed in a statement.
Onanuga said Tinubu would also use the retreat to “review the progress of ongoing reforms and engage in strategic planning ahead of his administration’s second anniversary.”
Multiple Presidency officials confirmed to our correspondent that with the vetting process over, the nominees were expected to be announced soon. However, no timeline was given for the transmission to the legislature.
“They have finished the DSS checks. That part is done. In fact, we were expecting the names to be out by yesterday or earlier than that. But so far, it looks like he (President Tinubu) still needs a little more time. Our eyes were up for this week. But it is confirmed that the background checks are over,” one official revealed, preferring to remain anonymous as he was not authorised to speak to the press.
Another source stated, “The names were supposed to be out earlier than yesterday (Wednesday). We’re not sure where the delay is coming from.”
Since September 2023, President Tinubu’s 4Ds—Democracy, Development, Demography, and Diaspora—Foreign Policy has operated without envoys.
That month, the President concluded a sector-wide reassessment of Nigeria’s foreign policy, which saw over 83 career and non-career ambassadors recalled from their stations.
Last December, reliable sources close to the President confirmed that Tinubu spent part of the Yuletide holidays reviewing the names of nominees with plans to transmit a consolidated list to the National Assembly before the end of the month. In January, however, sources told our correspondent that the President changed his mind.
The PUNCH gathered that the process suffered delays due to the paucity of funds—$1 bn—required to pay foreign service officials’ arrears, settle a backlog of overheads, replace ageing vehicles, and renovate embassy buildings.
One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “You see, the major issue is money. Not money to pay them [ambassadors], because how much is their salary and benefits? The main money is CAPEX (Capital Expenditure). By the time they put the cost together to fix the issues, it is running to almost $1bn.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, had also attributed the delay to financial constraints.
“It is a money problem,” Tuggar said during a ministerial briefing in Abuja last May. He argued that appointing ambassadors without the financial resources to support their travel and the effective running of missions abroad was pointless.
“We met a situation where Foreign Affairs was not being funded like it should be. There is no point in sending out ambassadors if you do not have the funds for them to even travel to their designated country and run the missions effectively; one needs funding. Mr President is working on it, and it will be done in due course,” Tuggar explained.
After nomination by the President, the names of ambassadors-designate are forwarded to the Senate for screening and confirmation.
The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs typically conducts interviews to assess the nominees’ credentials, diplomatic experience and commitment to serving Nigeria’s interests abroad.
Once the committee approves them, the full Senate votes on their confirmation. If confirmed, the nominees are then formally appointed by the president.
Following confirmation, the newly appointed ambassadors undergo an orientation programme organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which covers Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives, the host country’s context and expectations for diplomatic conduct.
Ambassadors then receive their Letters of Credence—an official document from the president—and present these credentials to the head of state (or government) in their assigned country.
Only after this ceremony are they recognised as Nigeria’s formal representatives, able to engage in diplomatic duties such as negotiation, consular services and fostering bilateral relations.
Impeccable sources attributed the delay to “last-minute changes” to the list of nominees.
“What I learned is that there are some last-minute changes to be made because once you release names like these, it becomes embarrassing for the government to start changing and apologising.
“If you pick someone who turns it down, it could embarrass the President. I know we were expecting it on Monday and Tuesday.
“The names were expected this week. But I can assure you that the DSS and the other agencies have done the bulk of their part. If there are some remaining, it should be one or two. But they have done their part,” a Presidency official said.
However, a highly placed foreign service officer familiar with the circumstances revealed that the President has been reluctant to bow to pressure to appoint envoys.
The official noted that the President was convinced that the monies meant for the deployment could be better used to address pressing domestic issues.
“From what I have seen, the President is reluctant to do this because of the cost. He feels the money could be used for more pressing issues at home, such as domestic reforms.
“You know, there is a lot of pressure internationally from the diplomatic community, the diaspora and general stakeholders. He’d rather use those funds for domestic issues, which feel more urgent.
“It is going to be released. But it is not clear how soon. I’ll be quite surprised if they are deployed early in the year. The process is slow,” the official told our correspondent.
The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, who explained the delays, said that nominations for diplomatic roles must be thorough before a final list is transmitted to the National Assembly.
“Don’t forget that the ambassadorial list has two components. There are career ambassadors and political ambassadors. The foreign affairs and consolidated list will still go through certain processes before it is released,” Onanuga said.
With three years of experience, Stephen, The PUNCH correspondent, has been covering Nigeria’s presidency, politics, security, immigration and trafficking in persons
