The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described as diplomatic blunder, the posting of ambassadorial designates by the Federal Government, to foreign missions with securing required agrément from host countries, as stipulated under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
ADC, in a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said such exposed Nigeria to diplomatic embarrassment.
The party, also questioned why only 65 ambassadors were announced for Nigeria’s approximately 109 diplomatic missions, while the government remains silent about the other 44 missions without envoys.
According to the party, this is evident of President Bola Tinubu administration’s inability to grasp the basic protocol of diplomatic relations.
ADC noted that Article 4 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, demands that a sending state must first obtain the consent, known as agrément, of the receiving state before officially appointing or announcing a head of mission.
“Requests for agrément are a foundational principle of international diplomacy and are normally done through diplomatic channels,” the party stated.
It added that by announcing appointments and then requesting consent, is an indication that the government does not know what it is doing.
“You cannot announce postings and say in the same statement that you are just requesting agrément.
“This absurdity becomes even more apparent when one considers that the receiving country reserves the right to accept or reject a nomination after conducting its due diligence.
“It is in order to save the sending country the embarrassment that a rejection may cause that the process is usually done behind the scenes. But this government does not get it,” ADC said.
The party said it thought that the Tinubu would have learnt a lesson from similar blunder last year after announcing postings to the United Kingdom, the United States and France, as well as sending an unscreened ambassador to Turkey.
It added that it appears that the administration is more concerned with responding to political pressure than doing the right thing.
ADC wondered why it took the government more than three months after nominating these ambassadors before requesting consent.
“Equally troubling is the incomplete nature of the announcement itself. Nigeria maintains 109 diplomatic missions around the world, yet the government has only announced 65 ambassadors.
“What happens to the remaining 44 missions? Are those posts to remain vacant indefinitely while Nigeria’s diplomatic presence continues to shrink at a time of rising global uncertainty?
“Is Nigeria closing down or degrading these missions? What strategy would have informed this choice?” The party asked.
