President Bola Tinubu has appointed non-career ambassadors, ending the logjam of over two years.
The appointees are Kayode Are from Ogun State, Aminu Dalhatu from Jigawa and Ayodele Oke from Oyo State. The president sent the list to the Senate for confirmation, on Wednesday.
“The list contains three names for now, I am sure others will follow,” Senate President Godswill Akpabio said after reading the letter from President Bola Tinubu.
After President Donald Trump of the United States blacklisted Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, many blamed this on the non-appointment of ambassadors.
In an interview he granted in September, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, dismissed concerns that diplomatic missions were paralysed without appointed envoys.
“All our embassies are functioning well. The chargé d’affaires in each mission is carrying out responsibilities effectively. The absence of ambassadors has not created a vacuum”, he had said.