Time constraints risk marring the office assumption of Nigerian ambassadorial nominees

SEVERAL of President Bola Tinubu's recent nominees for ambassadorial positions face the risk of being rejected by their host countries due to time constraints on their tenures created by the fact that the current government's life is due to end next May.

Last November President Tinubu forwarded the name of former ambassador to South Korea Amin Mohammed Dalhatu to London as the new high commissioner to the UK. He was named as part of a quartet by the presidency, which also appointed ambassadors to the US, France and Turkey, in Lateef Are, Ayodele Oke and Usman Dakingari respectively.

These four ambassadors-designates were part of a group of 68 appointees confirmed by the Senate last December. It was expected that all the other nominations would be confirmed by now but officials in the presidency said that the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs was grappling with the challenge of securing the formal consent of receiving states, for the nominees.

According to them, several countries may insist that ambassadors have a minimum tenured period of a year or two tied to the life of the sending country’s administration. With the next presidential election scheduled for February 2027 and President Tinubu’s first tenure set to conclude next May, the officials expressed concerns that host countries may be reluctant to accept many of the envoys for now.

One foreign service official said “The problem we have, which we are trying at the moment to see what we can do about, is that most countries, like India, will tell you that if an ambassador has less than one year or two, they may have issues. Usually, one year counts to the end of any current administration.

“So, that is where there might be a challenge. By the time they get the agrément, some of these ambassadors will have just a few months left, so we are trying to see how we can deal with that.”

Career foreign service officers often serve a tour of approximately three years per ambassadorship. Under Article 4 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, receiving states must grant consent before any ambassador can be accredited but they are not obliged to give reasons to the sending state for a refusal of agrément.

This means countries can reject an ambassador nominee without explanation, including for tenure-related concerns, at the state’s discretion. After receiving their postings, ambassadors must attend a mandatory retreat, they must also collect personalised post reports from the foreign ministry and then wait for agrément from the receiving states before they can assume office.

One foreign ministry official said:  “Some people may not go before August because some countries will take their time to do background checks. When you send the name, sometimes they will respond, send someone else and when you insist on asking why, they will give you their own report of their background checks.

“Or they may just ignore you for six months. The person will be waiting until you go to their ministry of internal affairs and ask why.  Then they will tell you why, based on their background checks, so, it is a long process.

He added that this will mean that some of these appointees will only end up with nine months if office, which will be a problem. Most of Nigeria’s foreign missions have been without substantive ambassadors since September 2023, with critics warning that the country risks international isolation as a result.