Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, has provided a fresh update on the delay in appointing ambassadors, revealing that the list submitted to President Bola Tinubu includes a higher number of political appointees compared to career diplomats.
In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Tuggar explained that while the names of ambassadorial nominees were forwarded to the president over a year ago, delays have occurred due to the president’s focus on economic reforms and other critical state matters.
“The president has to forward the names to the Senate for screening, and thereafter, there will be a request where we will assign ambassadors to the nations where they will go.” Tuggar stated.
He further clarified that the list was submitted shortly after Tinubu’s inauguration, a time when macroeconomic reforms, which the president deemed more urgent, took precedence.
These reforms, such as the removal of the petrol subsidy and the flotation of the naira, have been pivotal in shaping the early stages of the Tinubu administration. However, despite the initial submission of the list, the appointments have not yet been made.
“The list was transmitted to the president over a year ago in the wake of the macroeconomic reforms, which was more important and marked the beginning of the Tinubu administration,” Tuggar explained.
Following the president’s decision to float the naira and remove the petrol subsidy, the devaluation of the naira and other macroeconomic shifts further complicated the situation.
Tuggar noted that these factors, coupled with currency fluctuations and challenges in converting currency for missions abroad, have had a ripple effect on the appointment process.
“There were even shortfalls because we had different exchange rates and then we had huge fluctuations in the exchange rate as well. This further compounded the issue of funding missions and also funding the sending out of ambassadors,” he added.
Despite these setbacks, Tuggar assured that the appointment of ambassadors would be finalized soon.
Providing more insight into the submitted list, Tuggar shared that it consists of both career diplomats and political appointees, with the latter outnumbering the former.
“It is a mixture,” Tuggar confirmed. “In fact, the list being contemplated has more political appointees than the career ambassadors.”
When asked about the preference for more political appointees, Tuggar explained that this was at the president’s discretion, acknowledging that it comes with both benefits and drawbacks.
“The same way that you have competent political appointees and you have some that are not equally competent. By the way, I was a former political appointee as an ambassador,” he said, referring to his own past as an ambassador to Germany under the previous administration.
In the past week, media outlets reported that several names of ambassadorial nominees, who had reportedly passed security clearance, had been circulated.
However, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa dismissed these reports, assuring the public that the list would be sent to the National Assembly for screening and confirmation once it was finalized.
“Be rest assured that when it is ready, Mr President will transmit the list of nominees to the National Assembly for screening and confirmation,” Ebienfa said.
