New details have emerged regarding the delay in the appointment of Nigerian ambassadors, with Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar confirming that the list of nominees has been with President Bola Tinubu for over a year.
Speaking in a recent interview, Tuggar revealed that while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had long submitted its list of proposed ambassadors, the president’s focus on urgent economic reforms and other state matters contributed to the delay.
“The president has to forward the names to the Senate for screening, and thereafter, there will be a request where we will assign ambassadors to the nations where they will go…” he stated.
According to Tuggar, the nomination list was prepared shortly after the Tinubu administration came into office in 2023. However, sweeping macroeconomic policies, including the removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira, took precedence.
President Tinubu’s economic reforms, announced during his May 29, 2023, inauguration, led to currency devaluation and economic readjustments. Four months later, all serving ambassadors were recalled, but none have since been reappointed.
Explaining further, the minister cited logistical and financial constraints as contributing factors to the delay, particularly those affecting Nigeria’s 109 missions abroad.
“There were even shortfalls because we had different exchange rates and then we had huge fluctuations in the exchange rate as well. This further compounded the issue of funding missions and also funding the sending out of ambassadors,” Tuggar said.
Despite the prolonged wait, the minister assured that appointments would be made “soon,” and gave a glimpse into the composition of the list sent to the president.
“It is a mixture,” he said. “In fact, the list being contemplated has more political appointees than the career ambassadors.”
When probed about the number of political appointees, Tuggar said that such decisions lie at the president’s discretion. He also defended the inclusion of non-career diplomats, referencing his own time as a political appointee to Germany under a previous administration.
“The same way that you have competent political appointees and you have some that are not equally competent. By the way, I was a former political appointee as an ambassador,” he said.
Reports emerged last week suggesting some nominees had already undergone security clearance. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed these claims.
“Be rest assured that when it is ready, Mr President will transmit the list of nominees to the National Assembly for screening and confirmation,” said ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa.
Despite increased allocations in naira to Nigeria’s foreign missions, fluctuations in exchange rates continue to hamper their operational funding. While budgets are set in naira, funds are often disbursed in U.S. dollars and converted again into local currencies at the missions’ destinations—leading to value losses.
Minister Tuggar noted that steps are being taken to stabilize funding and improve the sustainability of Nigeria’s foreign service infrastructure.
“First is ensuring the stability in the exchange rates… now we have a single exchange rate that allows for stability and predictability,” he explained.
He added that the ministry had presented a memo to the Federal Executive Council to begin rationalizing foreign properties and pursue public-private partnerships aimed at making some missions self-sustaining.
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