The Nigerian diplomatic turf appears to be in a state of uncertainty following the delay in the appointment of substantive heads of Nigerian foreign missions in the positions of ambassadors and high commissioners with possible implications. The reasons for the delay by the current administration since the heads of missions were recalled in September 2023 remain unclear. However, some retired Nigerian ambassadors and experts in international relations have reacted to the situation. Speaking yesterday, a former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Martin Uhomoibhi, said ambassadors and high commissioners are the highest officers at the diplomatic missions and it was not a good idea to “leave the foreign missions vacant for long because of the serious implications it might have regarding how the nation is rated within the comity of nations.” He added that “if our diplomacy must achieve the desired results, then the earlier the substantive ambassadors are appointed to replace the ones that have been recalled the better.”
Also speaking yesterday, the former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who served as a one-time envoy to Ethiopia, Ambassador Bulus Lolo, explained that the appointment of ambassadors is the prerogative of the President, adding that no law stipulates when ambassadors should be appointed after a President assumes office. He said however that it will serve Nigeria’s national and strategic interest better to have ambassadors in place in countries where the level of representation is ambassadorial. “This is because diplomacy is a rank-conscious profession. An ambassador is the principal representative of the President who is a sovereign. In all jurisdictions around the world, the respect accorded an ambassador is higher than that of a lower-ranking diplomat. Therefore, a charge d’affaires, whether En Titre or Ad Interim, will not command the respect that an ambassador would,” he said.
