Tinubu Finalises Ambassadorial List, Set To Dispatch Nominees To Senate Anytime

According to Ireporter Online, President Bola Tinubu has received the final list of ambassadorial nominees and is now considering the appropriate time to forward the names to the Senate for confirmation. Senior officials in the Presidency, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, confirmed on Tuesday that all security vetting and background checks have been completed.

One of the officials disclosed that the list is fully prepared and currently awaits the President’s decision on when it should be transmitted to the Senate. Another insider revealed that the announcement of the nominees will be done in phases, beginning with envoys designated for nations regarded as Nigeria’s key partners.

The source explained that financial considerations are a major factor in the staggered rollout, noting that the cost of deploying and settling ambassadors is substantial. For this reason, only nominees for strategic countries will be unveiled initially, while others will follow at a later stage.

The Presidency is said to be prioritising ambassadorial postings to nations with strong economic, political and security ties to Nigeria. These include the United States and the United Kingdom, both major crude oil buyers and security partners; members of the European Union such as France and Germany, which play significant roles in trade and counter-terrorism support; China, a principal financier of major infrastructure projects; and India, one of Nigeria’s largest crude oil importers and a growing partner in ICT and pharmaceuticals. Key ECOWAS nations like Ghana, Niger and Benin are also expected to feature prominently due to regional security considerations.

This development comes more than two years after President Tinubu recalled all ambassadors in September 2023 as part of a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s diplomatic missions. Since then, most embassies have operated under chargés d’affaires, whose limited authority has reportedly constrained Nigeria’s diplomatic engagements.

A senior Foreign Service official noted that while chargés d’affaires play important roles, they lack the mandate to make binding commitments on behalf of the country. With Nigeria facing heightened diplomatic demands, the appointment of substantive ambassadors is considered urgent.

Another source within the Presidency added that the timing of the appointments is also being carefully managed to avoid any perception that the move is linked to recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to suspend aid and consider military action over alleged attacks on Christians in Nigeria. The official stressed that the President does not want the ambassadorial nominations to be interpreted as a response to the controversy.