Nigeria is facing an embarrassing diplomatic setback after some countries, including India, reportedly turned down ambassadors recently nominated by President Bola Tinubu, citing concerns about the limited time left in his administration.
First Daily gathered that sources within the Presidency and the foreign service revealed that India maintains a longstanding policy of not accepting ambassadors from governments with fewer than two years remaining in office.
Among those caught up in the situation is career diplomat Ambassador Muhammad Dahiru, who was nominated to represent Nigeria in New Delhi.
Officials familiar with the matter said India is using its diplomatic discretion to either delay or turn down the request from Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Dahiru’s acceptance.
“They don’t accept an ambassador from an administration that has less than two years in office. So they are giving us that body language already,” a Presidency source said.
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The situation follows earlier warnings that several of Tinubu’s ambassador-designates could run into resistance from receiving countries because of how little time the current administration has left before the next election cycle.
Under established diplomatic protocol, a host country must issue what is known as an agrément, a formal approval, before any nominated envoy can take up their post. Without this consent, an ambassador simply cannot be deployed.
While India’s stance is said to be the most clearly communicated so far, officials say other countries may take a similar position, which could throw a wrench into Nigeria’s efforts to fully restore ambassadorial presence across its foreign missions around the world.
The development puts the Tinubu administration in a difficult spot, raising questions about the timing of the nominations and whether the government waited too long to fill key diplomatic posts.