The federal government has moved to fill long-vacant diplomatic positions as President Bola Tinubu submitted three non-career ambassadorial nominees to the Senate.
The move has raised fresh interest in Nigeria’s foreign missions, which have operated without substantive ambassadors since last year.
This surprise diplomatic step has become the focus of national attention, especially among policy analysts watching the ambassadorial nomination process.
The nominees—Ayodele Oke, Colonel Lateef Are (retd.), and Amin Dalhatu were announced in a post shared by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The statement noted that their postings would be finalised after the Senate screening, which is expected to begin soon.
Moreover, the announcement has revived conversations about the urgent need for stable leadership across Nigeria’s foreign missions.
According to details released by the Presidency, Dalhatu previously served as Nigeria’s ambassador to South Korea during the Buhari administration.
Oke, who studied at Emory University in Atlanta, led the National Intelligence Agency at one time and had earlier served as Nigeria’s envoy to the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.
Furthermore, Colonel Are’s record includes service as Director General of the State Security Service from 1999 to 2007.
He was also National Security Adviser in 2010 and graduated with First Class honours in Psychology from the University of Ibadan.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, read the President’s letter during plenary.
He directed the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs to review the nominations within one week.
Meanwhile, lawmakers and diplomats have welcomed the move, noting the long delay in filling key ambassadorial roles.
Calls for quick appointments grew stronger earlier this year.
A former External Affairs Minister, Bolaji Akinyemi, stressed the need for direct diplomatic representation.
“I believe credible appointments should be made to the vacant ambassadorial posts.
We need to fill them,” he said during an interview on Politics Today.
He added that “diplomacy runs on ambassadorial contact, the interaction between governments and ambassadors.”
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had pushed back against criticism from the African Democratic Congress months earlier, insisting that Nigeria’s missions “remain fully operational.”
The ministry also said that foreign service officers and experienced chargés d’affaires were handling urgent duties despite “long-standing structural and funding challenges.”
Nigeria recalled all ambassadors in September 2023, leaving missions without substantive heads. Therefore, the new nominations have been seen as a major step toward restoring full diplomatic engagement. Analysts say the ambassadorial nomination process will likely shape Nigeria’s image abroad as the Senate carries out its review.
