Kehinde Fajobi
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged the public to disregard a fake list of ambassadorial nominees circulating on social media.
In a statement released on Sunday, the ministry, through its spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa, clarified that no such appointments had been made.
The statement emphasised that the appointment of ambassadors is solely the President’s prerogative.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform the general public to kindly disregard the fake list of ambassadorial nominees which is currently in circulation on some social media platforms,” the statement read.
“The ministry wishes to state unequivocally that the appointment of ambassadors is the prerogative of Mr President, and no such appointments have been made in that regard.
“The purported list should, therefore, be discountenanced,” it added.
Currently, Nigeria has 109 diplomatic missions, comprising 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 consulates worldwide.
Earlier, on September 2, 2023, President Bola Tinubu recalled all career and non-career ambassadors from Nigeria’s missions.
This included 41 non-career and 42 career ambassadors appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020.
The Ministry confirmed the recall and stated, “Sequel to the inquiries on the letter recalling the Nigerian ambassador to the UK, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has clarified that all career ambassadors and non-career ambassadors have been recalled on the instructions of President Bola Tinubu.”
The envoys were instructed to return to Nigeria by October 31, 2023.
However, over a year later, new ambassadors have yet to be appointed or deployed to various countries.