ADC cautions that Tinubu administration may face international humiliation due to its envoy assignments

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has cautioned that the Federal Government's recent announcement of ambassadorial postings could potentially lead to diplomatic embarrassment for Nigeria on the international stage and undermine its standing in global diplomacy, with the opposition party arguing that the move breaks established protocol by revealing the postings before obtaining the consent of host countries.

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This approach, according to the ADC, is in direct contravention of the provisions outlined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appears to be disregarding, as stated by Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC.

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In a statement, Abdullahi criticized the government's method, stating that announcing the ambassadorial postings without first securing the consent of the host countries is a clear breach of diplomatic protocol, as emphasized in Article 4 of the Vienna Convention, which mandates that a sending state must obtain agrément from the receiving state prior to officially appointing or announcing a head of mission.

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The ADC pointed out that the typical procedure involves requesting agrément through diplomatic channels, and that the government's decision to announce appointments and then request consent is a clear indication of its inability to grasp the fundamental principles of international diplomacy.

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Furthermore, the party noted that the receiving country has the right to accept or reject a nomination after conducting due diligence, and that the usual practice of handling these requests discreetly is intended to spare the sending country the potential embarrassment of a rejection.

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The ADC also expressed concern over the significant number of diplomatic missions that may be left without ambassadors, given that Nigeria maintains approximately 109 diplomatic missions worldwide, yet the government only announced 65 ambassadors in the latest postings.

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The party questioned the fate of the remaining 44 missions, asking whether these posts would be left vacant indefinitely, and what strategy could have informed the government's decision to leave them unstaffed at a time of rising global uncertainty.

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The ADC drew attention to the government's previous mistakes, including the blunder of announcing postings to the UK, the United States, and France last year, as well as sending an unscreened ambassador to Turkey, and expressed disappointment that the government had not learned from these errors.

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The party also queried the lengthy delay between the nomination of the ambassadors and the government's decision to seek the consent of the host countries, suggesting that the administration is more focused on responding to political pressure than taking the right course of action.

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The ADC's statement further noted the government's silence on the US mission, and warned that the Tinubu administration has 449 days left in office, during which it must address the issue of ambassadorial appointments and avoid causing irreparable damage to Nigeria's global standing.

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The party cautioned that the potential consequences of the government's incompetence in appointing ambassadors at a time when Nigeria needs strong representation on the global stage are too severe to contemplate, and that this could be the first administration in Nigeria's history to fail so spectacularly in this regard.