According to Ademola Oshodi, an advisor to President Bola Tinubu, the president would name his ambassadors in the coming weeks.
He criticized the previous administration for taking 20 months to choose ambassadors.
The revelation was made by Oshodi, a Senior Special Adviser on Foreign Affairs and Protocol to the President, during Sunday’s 2024 Year-In-Review show on Channels Television.
During the program, former Nigerian High Commissioner to Australia Ayoola Olukanni and former Ambassador to the Benin Republic Lawrence Obisakin criticized the President for taking 16 months to appoint ambassadors after recalling all of Nigeria’s political and career ambassadors abroad.
On September 2, just three months after taking office, President Tinubu asked for the return of Nigerian ambassadors serving in more than 100 Nigerian embassies and high commissions from their host nations.
A list of new ambassadors has not yet been submitted by the President to the Senate for approval, nevertheless.
According to Oshodi, the President has been busy organizing the appointment and dispatch of the envoys to other countries.
According to the presidential aide, “The ambassadors are coming but the most important thing we should realise is that things are being put in place for the ambassadors and the high commissioners.
“We have chargé d’affaires to the nations, and consul generals that have been sent, more of a prelude to the ambassadors’ arrival.
“The foreign missions are not in dire straits. The president inherited missions that were not in great shape.
“So, things have to be put in shape and prepared for the ambassadors, and their families, dignitaries, diplomats, etc.
“It is something that the President and his administration are focused on. As much as the ambassadors are key, I want to clearly state that even the last administration, without giving excuses, took 20 months for them to put ambassadors in place.”
