The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly condemned the Tinubu administration’s recent announcement regarding ambassadorial postings, labeling the move a “diplomatic blunder” and a sign of the government’s “well-known incompetence.”
In a statement issued by the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party argued that making these postings public before receiving official consent—known as agrément—from the host nations is a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The ADC warned that this approach risks causing significant international embarrassment for Nigeria.
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The party noted:“After nearly three years in office, and three months after the Senate confirmation of the ambassadors, today’s announcement by the State House puts the cart before the horse and demonstrates the Tinubu administration’s inability to grasp the basic protocol of diplomatic relations.”
The party further explained that under Article 4 of the Vienna Convention, a country must secure consent through quiet diplomatic channels before making a public appointment.
The ADC criticized the government’s logic, stating:“By announcing appointments and then requesting consent, it indicates that the government does not know what it is doing. You cannot announce postings and say in the same statement that you are just requesting agrément. This absurdity becomes even more apparent when one considers that the receiving country reserves the right to accept or reject a nomination… it is in order to save the sending country the embarrassment that a rejection may cause that the process is usually done behind the scenes.”
The ADC also highlighted that only 65 ambassadors were named for Nigeria’s 109 diplomatic missions, leaving 44 posts vacant.
The party questioned the strategy behind leaving nearly 40% of Nigeria’s missions without leadership during a period of global instability, asking:“What happens to the remaining 44 missions? Are those posts to remain vacant indefinitely while Nigeria’s diplomatic presence continues to shrink at a time of rising global uncertainty? Is Nigeria closing down or degrading these missions?”
The opposition party reminded the public that the government has only 449 days left in its current term and expressed fear that this administration could become the first in Nigeria’s history so ineffective that it fails to fully staff its foreign missions.
The ADC concluded by warning that the potential damage to Nigeria’s standing at the highest levels of global governance is “indeed hard to contemplate.”
