Former Nigerian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Eniola Ajayi, says President Bola Tinubu has the unquestionable constitutional authority to appoint whoever he deems fit as ambassador, noting that envoys first represent the president before representing the nation abroad.
Ajayi, who served as Nigeria’s envoy to The Hague between 2021 and 2023, stated this on Saturday while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise programme.
“The first thing that everybody has to understand is that the president has the right to choose the people that will represent him abroad. They first of all represent the president before they now represent the larger community called the nation, Nigeria. So the president has the prerogative to select whoever he deems appropriate to represent him.
“And the thing is for them to understand what the president requires of them and to do it. That’s the truth about representation. Anybody can be picked by the president of any country to be an ambassador,” she said.
Asked whether the personal history or controversies surrounding some nominees should matter in the selection process, Ajayi said such considerations are important, though she was not implying wrongdoing on the part of any specific nominee.
“Of course it matters. One of the things written on our letter of credence that you present to other countries is that this person has been found worthy in character and in everything to represent the president of the country and has the full authority of the president to execute orders on behalf of the country.
“That’s why an ambassador is called extraordinary and plenipotentiary, because you have the full backing. Apart from the president of countries, the only other group of people that they don’t take their biometrics at embassies when using diplomatic passports are ambassadors. They are recognised almost as if they are the president, because they represent the country in another country,” she said.
Ajayi added that Nigeria’s diplomatic gaps, including the long delay in filling ambassadorial postings, may have worsened recent tensions with the United States, especially following Nigeria’s designation under the CPC list.
“A lot of problems could have been averted, especially because there would have been somebody speaking on our behalf,” she said.
Her remarks come amid heated public debate over President Tinubu’s fresh ambassadorial list, submitted shortly after Nigeria was placed on the U.S. Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) list for alleged religious freedom violations, a move that attracted criticism of the government’s diplomatic posture.
Last week, President Tinubu transmitted 68 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation.
The nominations came in two batches.
The first batch, sent in November, comprised three non-career nominees, Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Aminu Dalhatu (Jigawa) and retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun), all of whom have already been screened.
The second batch, submitted on 4 December 2025, contains 65 names: 34 career diplomats and 31 non-career political appointees.
Prominent among the non-career nominees are former INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu; former ministers Reno Omokri and Femi Fani-Kayode; and former governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu.
The Senate has referred the list to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, which is expected to submit its report within a week.
