The ADC accuses Tinubu of diplomatic missteps over ambassadorial duties

The ADC accuses Tinubu of diplomatic missteps over ambassadorial duties

The opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of diplomatic missteps over the announcement of ambassadorial posts, describing it as a mistake and confirmation of the government’s “historic incompetence”.

In a statement signed by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC National Publicity Secretary on Friday, March 6, the party said publicly announcing its posts before obtaining the required agreement from host countries – as per the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations – exposes Nigeria to diplomatic embarrassment.

The ADC also questioned why only 65 ambassadors were announced for Nigeria’s about 109 diplomatic missions, while the government remained silent on the other 44 missions without envoys.

The full statement read:

“After nearly three years in office and three months after the confirmation of the ambassadors by the Senate, today’s announcement by the State House puts the cart before the horse and demonstrates the failure of the Tinubu administration to grasp the fundamental protocol of diplomatic relations.

“According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, in particular Article 4, a sending state must first obtain the consent, known as agrément, of the receiving state before appointing or officially announcing a head of mission. Requests for agrément are a fundamental principle of international diplomacy and are normally made through diplomatic channels.

“By announcing appointments and then requiring consent, the government demonstrates that it does not know what it is doing. You cannot announce publication and say in the same statement that you are only requesting agreement. This absurdity becomes even more obvious when you consider that the receiving country reserves the right to accept or reject an appointment after due diligence. To avoid embarrassment to the sending country, the process is usually conducted behind the scenes. But this government does not understand this.

“After the mistake made last year in announcing similar posts in the UK, US and France – including sending an unselected ambassador to Turkey – we would have expected the government to learn its lesson and correct course.

“Characteristically, Tinubu’s government seems more interested in responding to political pressure than doing the right thing. Why did it take more than three months after the appointment of these ambassadors before seeking consent? We also note how conspicuously silent the government is on the US mission.

“Equally concerning is the incomplete nature of the announcement. Nigeria maintains 109 diplomatic missions, but only 65 ambassadors have been announced. What happens to the remaining 44 missions? Will these posts remain vacant indefinitely as Nigeria’s diplomatic presence shrinks amid growing global uncertainty? Is Nigeria closing or demoting these missions? What strategy would this guide?

“The Tinubu government has 449 days left. As we have repeatedly warned, this may be the first administration in Nigeria so incompetent that it can’t even appoint ambassadors at a time when Nigeria needs to sit at the highest levels of global governance. The damage it could cause is hard to contemplate.”