President Bola Tinubu has approved the deployment of 65 ambassadors-designate and high commissioners to different countries and international missions, including the United Nations.
In the announcement on Thursday, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed that the list comprises 34 non-career envoys and 31 career diplomats assigned to various posts.
Among the prominent non-career appointees, former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode has been posted to Germany, while presidential aide Reno Omokri will represent Nigeria in Mexico.
Former Abdulrahman Dambazau has been assigned to Beijing, China, while Senator Jimoh Ibrahim will serve as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Other notable non-career appointments include Senator Ita Enang to South Africa, former Okezie Ikpeazu to Spain, former Health Minister Isaac Adewole to Canada, and Lateef Kayode Are to the United States.
Senator Grace Bent will serve in Lomé, Togo, while former Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has been posted to Athens, Greece.
A close associate of the president, Aminu Dalhatu, will serve as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, while former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayodele Oke, will represent Nigeria in France.
Additional postings include Fatima Ajimobi to Vienna, Austria; Lola Akande to Stockholm, Sweden; and Joe-Kyari Okocha to Dublin, Ireland.
Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas will represent Nigeria in Manila, Philippines, while Paul Adikwu has been assigned to the Holy See in Vatican City.
According to Onanuga, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already secured agrément from the United Kingdom for Dalhatu and from France for Oke.
“The Ministry has also conveyed the nominations of the other 62 designated envoys to all the countries concerned, including a request for their agréments in line with standard diplomatic practice,” Onanuga stated.
Agrément refers to the formal consent given by a host nation to accept a foreign diplomat before the envoy can assume duty.
Tinubu has also directed the Foreign Affairs Ministry to begin an induction programme for the ambassadors-designate and high commissioners.
The Nigerian Senate confirmed the 65 nominees in December 2025 after screening them through its Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The appointments combine political nominees—known as non-career ambassadors—and professional diplomats from Nigeria’s foreign service.
Nigeria maintains diplomatic missions in more than 100 countries, including embassies, high commissions and consulates that manage the country’s bilateral and multilateral relations.
The last large-scale ambassadorial deployment occurred in 2017 during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, leaving several missions without substantive ambassadors for years.
The newly appointed envoys will assume their posts after completing the induction programme and receiving agrément from their host countries.
