Fresh diplomatic hurdles have reportedly emerged for some of the ambassadors-designate recently posted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as India and several other countries signal reluctance to accept envoys from an administration with limited time left in office.
Sources within Nigeria’s diplomatic and presidential circles disclosed that certain host countries are wary of granting approval to nominees whose appointing government has less than two years remaining in its tenure.
The situation has created uncertainty around the fate of several of Nigeria’s newly nominated ambassadors whose postings require the formal consent of their receiving countries before they can assume duty.
Earlier, TAT News had reported that a number of the ambassadors-designate could face possible rejection by host nations due to the short time remaining in the current administration’s first term.
Following last week’s announcement of the postings by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the newspaper also noted that the announcement alone does not automatically confer ambassadorial status on the nominees.
Before they can formally assume office, the Federal Government must obtain agrément - the diplomatic approval granted by host countries to accept a foreign envoy.
Concerns about that process now appear to be playing out. Senior officials in the Presidency and the foreign service revealed on Tuesday that India, where career diplomat Muhammad Dahiru has been designated as Nigeria’s ambassador, maintains a long-standing diplomatic practice of avoiding envoys from governments with less than two years remaining in office.
According to Punch Newspaper, citing sources familiar with the development, the Asian country is currently exercising its discretion to decline the request by Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to approve Dahiru’s posting.
The development lends further credence to an earlier exclusive report by The New Diplomat in February 2026 which warned that several of Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominees could encounter resistance from host countries due to the limited tenure of the current administration.
Three sources familiar with the matter said Nigeria had already begun receiving informal signals from New Delhi and possibly other capitals suggesting reluctance to grant agrément.
In diplomatic practice, agrément is the formal approval issued by a receiving country to accept a diplomat nominated by another state. Without it, an ambassador cannot assume office.
“They don’t accept ambassadors from administrations with less than two years remaining. That is the signal we are already getting,” one Presidency official said.
The official noted that the hesitation by host countries is not necessarily a reflection of the nominees themselves but rather a question of timing.
“Some countries are reluctant to accept certain nominees not because of who they are but because of the time factor. From their perspective, the Tinubu administration is already approaching the end of its tenure.
“The President has just about a year left before the next election. If there is a change of government, the new administration could recall those ambassadors. That is why some countries prefer not to proceed under such circumstances,” the source explained.
Another senior official in the foreign service confirmed India’s position but suggested that Nigeria might still attempt to persuade the country to reconsider.
“I am aware of India’s policy. If an administration has less than two years left in office, accepting an ambassador becomes difficult. However, we may still rely on our bilateral relationship with them to see if an exception can be made,” the official said.
He added that some countries may also consider Nigeria’s political trajectory before taking a final decision.
“Some countries study the political climate. If they believe the current government has a strong chance of winning another term, they may be more inclined to approve the nominations,” the official said.
He clarified, however, that India remains the only country with a clearly confirmed policy against short-tenure ambassadorial postings, although other nations could adopt similar positions based on their diplomatic customs.
“India is the only one I can confirm at the moment. Other countries may follow their own conventions, but India has a known standing rule, so diplomatic engagement will be necessary,” he added.
Another official disclosed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already secured funding for the mandatory orientation programme for the ambassadors-designate, though the schedule has yet to be finalised.
“Funding for the induction training is already available, but the timeline for the programme has not been determined,” the official said.
President Tinubu approved the deployment of 65 ambassadors-designate and high commissioners on Friday, March 6, assigning them to diplomatic missions across the world, including Nigeria’s mission to the United Nations.
Among those nominated are former aviation minister Femi Fani-Kayode, posted to Germany; presidential aide Reno Omokri, assigned to Mexico; former Katsina State governor Abdulrahman Dambazau, posted to China; and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, nominated as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
So far, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has secured agrément from only two countries - the United Kingdom for High Commissioner-designate Aminu Dalhatu and France for Ambassador Ayodele Oke.
The remaining 63 nominees are still awaiting approval from their respective host countries.
Nigeria’s next presidential election has been scheduled for January 16, 2027 by the Independent National Electoral Commission, while Tinubu’s current term is expected to expire in May 2027.
Earlier reports suggested that some countries prefer ambassadors to have at least one or two years of service remaining within the tenure of the appointing government.
A senior foreign service official had previously explained that this requirement could complicate Nigeria’s current ambassadorial postings.
“The difficulty is that many countries will say if an ambassador has less than one or two years left before the end of the administration, they may not accept the nomination,” the official said.
“By the time agrément is granted, some of the ambassadors might have only a few months left to serve.”
He also warned that delays in the approval process could mean that some nominees may not assume their posts until August 2026, leaving them with barely nine months before Nigeria’s next election.
Under Article 4 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), a receiving state must grant consent before an ambassador can be formally accredited.
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