President Bola Tinubu has approved the posting of 65 ambassadors-designate and high commissioners to different countries and international organisations across the world, marking one of the biggest diplomatic appointments by his administration.
The new postings include both political appointees and career diplomats. Among the prominent figures assigned to foreign missions are former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode, who will serve as Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany, and presidential aide Reno Omokri, who has been posted to Mexico.
The announcement was made on Thursday in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. According to him, the list contains 34 non-career ambassadors and 31 career diplomats who will represent Nigeria in different parts of the world.
The postings come several months after the Senate confirmed the nominees in December 2025 following their screening by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The ambassadors are expected to begin preparations for their assignments while waiting for formal approval from the countries where they will serve.
Some of the most notable postings involve well-known political figures and former government officials.
Former Katsina State Governor and retired military officer Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau has been assigned to Beijing, China, one of Nigeria’s most important diplomatic and economic partners.
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim has been appointed as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, where he will represent the country at the global body and participate in international negotiations and discussions.
Other prominent appointments include Senator Ita Enang, who will serve in South Africa, and former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, who has been posted to Spain.
Former Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, will represent Nigeria in Canada, while Lateef Kayode Are has been assigned to the United States.
Senator Grace Bent has been posted to Lomé in Togo, and former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi will serve as Nigeria’s envoy to Athens in Greece.
Several other political appointees were also given diplomatic assignments. Aminu Dalhatu, known to be a close associate of the President, has been named Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayodele Oke, will serve as Nigeria’s ambassador to France.
Fatima Ajimobi has been posted to Vienna in Austria, while Mrs Lola Akande will represent Nigeria in Stockholm, Sweden. Senior Advocate of Nigeria Joe-Kyari Okocha has been assigned to Dublin in Ireland.
Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas will serve in Manila in the Philippines, while Paul Adikwu will represent Nigeria at the Vatican City.
Other postings include Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu to Tel Aviv in Israel, Mahmud Yakubu to Doha in Qatar, and Yakubu Gambo to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
Senator Professor Nora Ladi Daduut will serve in Seoul, South Korea, while Dr Kulu Haruna Abubakar has been assigned to Tunis, Tunisia.
Further non-career appointments include Abasi Braimah to Budapest in Hungary, Angela Adebayo to Lisbon in Portugal, Oluwayimika Ayotunwa to Tokyo in Japan, Chioma Ohakim to Warsaw in Poland, and former Lagos Deputy Governor Olufemi Pedro to Canberra in Australia.
Mohammed Aliyu has been posted to Buenos Aires in Argentina, Joseph Sola Iji to Moscow in Russia, and Jerry Manwe to Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago.
Alongside the political appointees, several professional diplomats from Nigeria’s Foreign Service have also been posted to different missions.
Among them is Ambassador Mohammed Mahmud Lele, who will serve in Algiers, Algeria, while Ambassador Shehu Barde has been assigned to Accra, Ghana.
Ambassador Aminu Nasir will represent Nigeria in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the headquarters of the African Union is located.
Ambassador Ibrahim Danlami will serve in Nairobi, Kenya, while Ambassador Ayeni Adebayo has been posted to Brussels, Belgium. Ambassador Akande Wahab will serve in Berne, Switzerland.
Other career ambassadors include Nwabiola Ezenwa to Côte d’Ivoire, Besto Maimuna Ibrahim to Niamey in Niger, and Ahmed Mohammed Monguno to Cairo in Egypt.
Ambassador Jane Adams will represent Nigeria in Kingston, Jamaica, while Ambassador Clark-Omeru Alexandra has been posted to Lusaka in Zambia.
Additional postings include Ambassador Muhammad Saidu Dahiru to New Delhi in India, Ambassador Abdussalam Habu Zayyad to Dakar in Senegal, and Abubakar Musa to N’Djamena in Chad.
Ambassador Haidara Mohammed Idris will serve in The Hague in the Netherlands, while Ambassador Bako Adamu Umar has been posted to Rabat in Morocco.
Others include Ambassador Sulu Gambari to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Ambassador Romata Mohammed to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Ambassador Shaga John to Gaborone in Botswana, and Hamza Salau to Tehran in Iran.
Ibrahim Adeola Mopelola will serve in Cotonou in Benin Republic, while Ambassador Wasa Segun Ige has been posted to Beirut in Lebanon.
Further assignments include Ruben Abimbola Samuel to Rome in Italy, Ambassador Onaga Ogechukwu to Maputo in Mozambique, and Ambassador Magaji Umar to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ambassador Arewa Esther will represent Nigeria in Windhoek, Namibia.
Others are Chima Geoffrey David to Bamako in Mali, Ambassador Odumah Yvonne to Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, Monica Okwuchukwu to São Tomé, Endoni Syndoph to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, and Ambassador Gergadi Joseph to Libreville in Gabon.
Ambassador Luther Ayo-Kalata will serve in Freetown in Sierra Leone, while Danladi Yakubu has been posted to Khartoum in Sudan and Bello Dogon-Daji to Bangkok in Thailand.
The presidency also disclosed that some host countries have already granted the necessary diplomatic approval known as agreement for Nigeria’s envoys.
According to Onanuga, the United Kingdom has approved Aminu Dalhatu as Nigeria’s High Commissioner, while France has also granted approval for Ayodele Oke to serve as ambassador.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent the names of the remaining envoys to their host countries and requested similar approvals.
Agreement is a formal diplomatic requirement where a country must approve the appointment of an ambassador before the diplomat can officially begin work in that country.
President Tinubu has directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to organise an induction programme for the ambassadors-designate and high commissioners.
The training programme will prepare them for their duties, including diplomatic negotiations, bilateral relations, and representing Nigeria’s interests abroad.
After completing the training and receiving agreement from their host countries, the envoys are expected to depart for their duty posts.
Nigeria maintains diplomatic relations with more than 100 countries around the world through embassies, high commissions, and consulates.
These missions promote Nigeria’s political, economic, and cultural interests and also assist Nigerian citizens living abroad.
The new appointments are particularly significant because many Nigerian missions had been without substantive ambassadors for years.
The last major ambassadorial postings were carried out in 2017 during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Since then, several diplomatic missions were managed by chargé d’affaires, who are senior diplomats acting in temporary leadership roles.
They also believe the mix of career diplomats and political appointees reflects a long-standing practice in Nigeria’s foreign policy system, where experienced diplomats work alongside individuals appointed from outside the foreign service.
