The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the ambassadorial postings by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration before securing the required agrément as a complete diplomatic blunder.
The ADC pointedly said that the decision to publicly announce ambassadorial postings before securing the required agrément from host countries violates established diplomatic protocol and exposes Nigeria to possible international embarrassment.
A statement by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, noted that the development exposed clear evidence of incompetence by the All Progressives Congress-led federal government that “lacked basic understanding” of issues in governance.
The ADC particularly said that under Article 4 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a sending state must first obtain the consent of the receiving state—known as agrément—before officially appointing or announcing a head of mission.
According to the ADC; “By announcing appointments and at the same time stating that consent is being sought, the government has clearly demonstrated a misunderstanding of the basic principles of diplomatic engagement”.
The opposition party further said that the process of requesting agrément is traditionally conducted discreetly through diplomatic channels to avoid embarrassment in the event that a nominee is rejected by the receiving country.
ADC said; “It is precisely to prevent such embarrassment that this process is handled quietly. Unfortunately, this government appears not to understand this fundamental rule of diplomacy”.
The party also wondered why the government announced the names of only 65 ambassadors for Nigeria’s approximately 109 diplomatic missions worldwide, leaving 44 missions without designated envoys.
“What happens to the remaining missions? Are they to remain vacant indefinitely while Nigeria’s diplomatic footprint continues to shrink at a time of increasing global uncertainty?
“Why did it take the federal government more than three months after Senate confirmation of the nominees to begin requesting agrément from host countries,” the ADC asked.
The opposition party therefore warned that the continued delay and confusion surrounding the ambassadorial appointments risk weakening Nigeria’s presence in global diplomacy.
According to the ADC; “With about 449 days left in office, the Tinubu administration must recognise the urgency of ensuring that Nigeria is properly represented at the highest levels of international engagement”.
