JUST IN: Tinubu approves posting of Fani-Kayode, Omokri, Dambazau, 62 others as ambassadors

President Bola Tinubu has approved the postings of 65 ambassadors-designate and high commissioners to various countries and the United Nations, with former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode assigned to Germany and presidential aide Reno Omokri to Mexico.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who signed the statement announcing the postings on Thursday, disclosed that 34 non-career and 31 career ambassadors have been assigned to their duty posts.

Among the high-profile non-career appointees, former Katsina State Governor Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau will serve in Beijing (China), while Senator Jimoh Ibrahim has been designated as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Other prominent postings include Senator Ita Enang (South Africa), former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu (Spain), former Health Minister Prof. Isaac Adewole (Canada), and Lateef Kayode Are (United States).

Senator Grace Bent will serve in Lomé (Togo), while former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has been posted to Athens (Greece).

Aminu Dalhatu, a close associate of the President, will serve as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, while Ayodele Oke, former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, will serve in France.

Fatima Ajimobi has been posted to Vienna (Austria), Mrs Lola Akande to Stockholm (Sweden), and Joe-Kyari Okocha, SAN, to Dublin (Ireland). Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas will represent Nigeria in Manila (Philippines), while Paul Adikwu has been assigned to the Vatican City Holy See.

Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu will serve in Tel Aviv (Israel), Mahmud Yakubu in Doha (Qatar), and Yakubu Gambo in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). Senator Prof. Nora Ladi Daduut has been posted to Seoul (South Korea), while Dr Kulu Haruna Abubakar will serve in Tunis (Tunisia).

Other non-career postings include Engr. Abasi Braimah to Budapest (Hungary), Erelu Angela Adebayo to Lisbon (Portugal), Oluwayimika Ayotunwa to Tokyo (Japan), Chioma Ohakim to Warsaw (Poland), Olufemi Pedro to Canberra (Australia), Mohammed Aliyu to Buenos Aires (Argentina), Joseph Sola Iji to Moscow (Russia), and Jerry Manwe to Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago).

Among career ambassadors, Ambassador Mohammed Mahmud Lele will serve in Algiers (Algeria), Ambassador Shehu Barde in Accra (Ghana), and Ambassador Aminu Nasir in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).

Ambassador Ibrahim Danlami has been posted to Nairobi (Kenya), Ambassador Ayeni Adebayo to Brussels (Belgium), and Ambassador Akande Wahab to Berne (Switzerland).

Other career postings include Ambassador Nwabiola Ezenwa (Côte d’Ivoire), Besto Maimuna Ibrahim to Niamey (Niger), Ahmed Mohammed Monguno to Cairo (Egypt), Ambassador Jane Adams to Kingston (Jamaica), and Ambassador Clark-Omeru Alexandra to Lusaka (Zambia).

Ambassador Muhammad Saidu Dahiru will serve in New Delhi (India), Ambassador Abdussalam Habu Zayyad in Dakar (Senegal), Abubakar Musa in N’Djamena (Chad), Ambassador Haidara Mohammed Idris in The Hague (Netherlands), and Ambassador Bako Adamu Umar in Rabat (Morocco).

Additional career postings include Ambassador Sulu Gambari to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Ambassador Romata Mohammed to Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Ambassador Shaga John to Gaborone (Botswana), Hamza Salau to Tehran (Iran), and Ibrahim Adeola Mopelola to Cotonou (Benin).

Ambassador Wasa Segun Ige will serve in Beirut (Lebanon), Ruben Abimbola Samuel in Rome (Italy), Ambassador Onaga Ogechukwu in Maputo (Mozambique), Ambassador Magaji Umar in Kinshasa (DR Congo), and Ambassador Arewa Esther in Windhoek (Namibia).

Other postings include Chima Geoffrey David to Bamako (Mali), Ambassador Odumah Yvonne to Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), Monica Okwuchukwu to São Tomé (São Tomé and Príncipe), Endoni Syndoph to Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Ambassador Gergadi Joseph to Libreville (Gabon), Ambassador Luther Ayo-Kalata to Freetown (Sierra Leone), Danladi Yakubu to Khartoum (Sudan), and Bello Dogon-Daji to Bangkok (Thailand).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already received agrément from the United Kingdom for High Commissioner-designate Aminu Dalhatu, while France has sent agrément for Ambassador Ayodele Oke.

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“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 is the formal approval given by a receiving country to accept a diplomat designated by the sending country, and it is a prerequisite before an ambassador can assume duty.

Tinubu has directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to immediately commence an induction programme for the ambassadors-designate and high commissioners.

The Senate confirmed all 65 ambassadorial nominees in December 2025 following their screening by the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The postings include a mix of political appointees, known as non-career ambassadors, and professional diplomats from the Foreign Service, classified as career ambassadors.

Nigeria maintains diplomatic missions in over 100 countries worldwide, with embassies, high commissions, and consulates serving as the country’s representatives in bilateral and multilateral engagements.

The last major ambassadorial postings were made in 2017 under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, leaving many Nigerian missions without substantive ambassadors for extended periods.

The ambassadors-designate are expected to assume their duties after completing the induction programme and receiving agrément from their host countries.