India and several other countries have reportedly declined to accept some of President Bola Tinubu’s newly appointed ambassadors-designate due to diplomatic policies that discourage receiving envoys from governments with less than two years remaining in office.
Senior officials in the Presidency and the foreign service disclosed on Tuesday that India maintains a standing policy against accepting ambassadors from administrations nearing the end of their tenure. The policy is affecting the planned posting of career diplomat Ambassador Muhammad Dahiru, who has been designated to serve in New Delhi.
Sources said India is exercising its discretionary powers to decline the request from Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to grant Dahiru agrément — the formal approval required from a host country before a diplomat can assume duty.
According to a Presidency official who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, the reluctance from some countries is based largely on the limited time left in the current administration.
“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,” the official said.
The source explained that some governments consider the possibility that a new administration may emerge after the next election and replace the envoys.
“They are already seeing the Tinubu government as an outgoing government. Their concern is that he has just about a year left. If he does not win the election, another government may come and remove them,” the official added.
Another senior foreign service official confirmed India’s policy but expressed optimism that Nigeria might secure an exception through diplomatic engagement.
“I know India has that policy. If you are less than two years to the end of the tenure, there will be difficulties accepting an ambassador. Maybe we can leverage our relationship with them to scale through that,” the official said.
He also suggested that some countries might weigh the political outlook ahead of the next election in assessing the nominations.
“Some may gauge the political tides and conclude that the chances of the ruling party winning again are high. That is one of the arguments the government will push forward,” the official added.
While India’s policy has been confirmed, officials said other countries could follow similar diplomatic conventions even if they do not formally state them.
Meanwhile, a third official disclosed that although funding has been secured for the induction training of the ambassadors-designate, the schedule for the programme remains uncertain.
President Tinubu approved the posting of 65 ambassadors-designate and high commissioners on March 6 to various countries and international organisations, including the United Nations.
Among the nominees are former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode (Germany), presidential aide Reno Omokri (Mexico), former Katsina State governor Abdulrahman Dambazzau (China), and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, who was nominated as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
So far, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received agrément only from the United Kingdom for High Commissioner-designate Aminu Dalhatu and from France for Ambassador Ayodele Oke, leaving the fate of the remaining nominees uncertain.
Nigeria’s next presidential election has been scheduled for January 16, 2027, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, while Tinubu’s current tenure is expected to end in May 2027.
Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations adopted in 1961, host countries must grant consent before a foreign ambassador can be accredited.
Former Nigerian ambassador to Singapore, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, said countries are simply being pragmatic by considering Nigeria’s political calendar before granting approval.
“The underlying word here is pragmatism. Elections can go either way, so a country may hesitate to accept an envoy from a president who has just over a year left in office,” he said.
He also criticised the delay in appointing ambassadors, noting that the administration waited too long before making the nominations.
Nigeria’s former envoy to Algeria, Mohammed Mabdul, however, argued that friendly countries may still accept the nominees, though political appointees could face more scrutiny than career diplomats.
The diplomatic hurdle comes nearly 27 months after the Tinubu administration recalled 83 ambassadors in September 2023, leaving Nigeria’s 109 foreign missions without substantive heads for an extended period.
Despite the current challenge, Nigeria and India have strengthened ties in recent years. Tinubu visited India in September 2023 for the G20 Summit 2023 in New Delhi, where he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss cooperation in defence, agriculture, trade and investment.
Modi later visited Nigeria in November 2024 — the first trip by an Indian prime minister to the country in 17 years — during which both nations signed several agreements to deepen their strategic partnership.
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