The federal government’s recent announcement of ambassadorial postings has drawn criticism from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which characterizes the action as a diplomatic error that could cause Nigeria to be embarrassed internationally.
The opposition party claimed in a statement released on Friday by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, its National Publicity Secretary, that the Tinubu administration had broken established diplomatic protocol by making the postings public before obtaining the necessary agrüge, or host countries’ consent, as required by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
According to Abdullahi, before any formal announcement is made, the receiving nation must first confirm a nomination through diplomatic channels in accordance with international law.
“It shows that the administration is incompetent when it announces nominations and then asks for permission. He remarked, “You can’t announce postings and then claim in the same statement that you’re only asking for agrüge.”
The procedure is intended to avoid diplomatic humiliation in situations where a nominee may be turned down by the host nation following due diligence, according to the ADC spokesperson.
The process is typically carried out behind the scenes to save the sending nation the humiliation that a rejection may bring. But this government doesn’t understand it,” Abdullahi continued.
Recalling that similar announcements had previously been made regarding postings to the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, the party further denounced what it called irregularities in the government’s diplomatic appointments.
“We would have expected the government to learn its lessons and course-correct after the blunder of similarly announcing postings to the UK, the US, and France last year, including sending an unscreened ambassador to Turkey,” he stated.
ADC also questioned why 44 of Nigeria’s 109 diplomatic operations abroad lacked designated envoys, with the government announcing only 65 ambassadors.
The announcement’s inherent incompleteness is equally concerning. Only 65 ambassadors have been announced by the government, despite Nigeria having 109 diplomatic missions abroad, according to Abdullahi.
“What will happen to the 44 missions that are left? He said, “Are those positions going to stay empty indefinitely while Nigeria’s diplomatic presence continues to decline at a time of growing global uncertainty?”
Noting that the statement was made more than three months after the Senate confirmed the candidates, the party also questioned the timing of the announcement.
“The question to ask is: Why did the government wait to request consent more than three months after nominating these ambassadors?” Abdullahi stated.
He cautioned that improper handling of diplomatic assignments could erode Nigeria’s standing abroad.
There are 449 days remaining for the Tinubu administration. Additionally, this administration may be the first in Nigeria to be so incompetent that it is unable to even appoint ambassadors at a time when Nigeria needs to be present at the highest levels of global governance, as we have constantly warned,” he stated.
