Dare Babalola
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of breaching diplomatic protocol in the announcement of newly posted ambassadors.
The party cited a contravention of established international norms and conventions governing diplomatic appointments, expressing concern over the implications of this breach on Nigeria’s diplomatic relations and global standing.
In a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party expressed concern that the announcement of ambassadorial postings prior to securing the requisite approval, known as agrément, from host countries contravenes established diplomatic protocols.
The ADC pointed out that, under Article 4 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, international diplomatic protocol demands that a country secures the receiving nation’s consent before publicly declaring an ambassador’s appointment.
“After spending nearly three years in office, and even three months after the Senate confirmed the ambassadorial nominees, the latest announcement from the State House appears to have reversed the proper order of things and reflects the Tinubu administration’s failure to understand the fundamental procedures guiding diplomatic relations.
“Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, particularly Article 4, a sending state must first obtain the consent, known as agrément, of the receiving state before officially appointing or announcing a head of mission,” Abdullahi said.
He explained that the request for agrément is normally done quietly through diplomatic channels to avoid embarrassment if the receiving country rejects the nominee.
“By announcing appointments and then requesting consent, it indicates that the government does not know what it is doing. You cannot announce postings and say in the same statement that you are just requesting agreement,” he said.
The party said such actions expose Nigeria to possible diplomatic embarrassment because the receiving country has the right to accept or reject a nominee after conducting its own checks.
“It is in order to save the sending country the embarrassment that a rejection may cause that the process is usually done behind the scenes. But this government does not get it,” the statement added.
ADC also recalled what it described as a similar mistake by the government last year when ambassadorial postings to countries such as the United Kingdom, United States and France were announced.
The party also referenced what it called the sending of an unscreened ambassador to Turkey, saying the government should have learned from previous errors.
“After the blunder of similarly announcing postings to the UK, the United States and France last year, including sending an unscreened ambassador to Turkey, we would have expected the government to learn its lessons and course-correct,” Abdullahi stated.
The party further questioned why it took the government more than three months after the Senate confirmed the ambassadors before requesting agrément from host countries.
“The question to ask is: why did it take the government more than three months after nominating these ambassadors before now requesting consent?” he asked.
ADC also expressed concern over what it described as an incomplete ambassadorial list, noting that Nigeria has about 109 diplomatic missions worldwide, yet only 65 ambassadors were announced.
“Nigeria maintains 109 diplomatic missions around the world, yet the government has only announced 65 ambassadors. What happens to the remaining 44 missions? Are those posts to remain vacant indefinitely?” the party queried.
The party warned that leaving many missions without ambassadors could weaken Nigeria’s diplomatic presence at a time of growing global challenges.
According to Abdullahi, the Tinubu administration has 449 days left in office, warning that the country risks being poorly represented internationally if the situation is not addressed.
“This may be the first administration in Nigeria so incompetent that it could not even appoint ambassadors at a time Nigeria needs to sit at the table at the highest levels of global governance. The damage that would do to the country is indeed hard to contemplate,” he said.
