You Are Disrespecting Other Presidents – Ex-Envoys Carpets Tinubu Over Non-Appointment Of Ambassadors

Nigeria’s former Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Usman Sarki; and ex-Senior Advisor to the United Nations (Nigeria Office), Fred Eno have condemned President Bola Tinubu’s non-appointment of ambassadors 10 months after he recalled all career and political ambassadors representing Nigeria overseas.

They insisted that the prolonged delay is unacceptable.

The duo stated this during an appearance on Channels Television on Friday.

Naija News understands that on September 2, 2023, Tinubu, recalled all Nigerian ambassadors manning over 100 Nigerian embassies and high commissions from their host countries.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, had said the ambassadors served at the behest of the President in their host nations and it was the President’s “prerogative to send or recall them from any country”.

However, 10 months after, the President has not sent a list of fresh ambassadors to the Senate for approval and onward deployment to missions abroad.

Speaking on the development, Eno said,  “For a country like Nigeria to stay for an entire year without professional or career diplomats or political appointees manning our country’s (embassies and high commissions) is not just acceptable. It’s not what we can continue debating. And it’s a failure.”

On his part, Sarki, Nigeria’s former Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, opined that Tinubu was disrespecting the presidents of the countries he has failed to send ambassadors to.

According to him, “The country that you have left without an ambassador, that country will consider it as a negative vote of confidence because the country is maintaining an ambassador in your capital.

“That ambassador has presented his documents to your President and he or she is operating in your capital and you don’t have yours in his capital? That is a very serious disconnection in terms of relationships with other countries.

“The presence of an ambassador represents the presence of the President in a country. For 10 months, one year, you don’t have an ambassador in my country, which shows that you do not accord the proper respect to me as a President, as a country.”