{"id":94693,"date":"2025-12-02T12:30:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T12:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tv.guardian.ng\/?p=94693"},"modified":"2025-12-02T12:38:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T12:38:10","slug":"ambassadors-return-tinubu-sends-35-names-to-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guardian.ng\/tv\/ambassadors-return-tinubu-sends-35-names-to-senate\/","title":{"rendered":"Ambassadors return: Tinubu sends 35 names to Senate"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"dailymotion-player\"><script src=\"https:\/\/geo.dailymotion.com\/player\/x1ee8e.js\" data-video=\"x9uv50m\"><\/script><\/div><br><br><p>\nAfter more than two years without permanent ambassadors, President Bola Tinubu has finally moved to refill Nigeria\u2019s empty diplomatic seats.<\/p>\n<p>On November 26, 2025, he sent the first three names to the Senate \u2014 including postings to the United States, United Kingdom, and France.<br \/>\nJust three days later, he forwarded another 32 nominees \u2014 a mix of 15 career diplomats and 17 non-career heavyweights, among them former governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu, ex-minister Femi Fani-Kayode, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, ex-presidential aide Reno Omokri and even former INEC chairman Mahmud Yakubu.<\/p>\n<p>So why the long vacuum?<\/p>\n<p>When Tinubu took office in May 2023, he recalled virtually all ambassadors for a \u201ccomprehensive diplomatic review.\u201d<br \/>\nThat review dragged on for over two years \u2014 crippled by funding shortages, a crashing naira, unpaid salaries at missions, and the delicate politics of balancing merit with patronage.<\/p>\n<p>The result? Nigeria\u2019s 109 embassies, high commissions, and consulates were run by junior charg\u00e9s d\u2019affaires \u2014 weakening trade talks, visa negotiations, and Nigeria\u2019s voice on the global stage.<\/p>\n<p>Now, with these 35 names \u2014 and more promised soon \u2014 President Tinubu says the era of \u201cquality diplomacy\u201d has begun.<\/p>\n<p>But for a country that prides itself as Africa\u2019s giant, the question remains:<br \/>\nCan Nigeria afford to stay off the diplomatic pitch for this long again?<\/p>\n<p>This is Nigeria\u2019s diplomatic reset \u2014 two years in the making.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After more than two years without permanent ambassadors, President Bola Tinubu has finally moved to refill Nigeria\u2019s empty diplomatic seats. On November 26, 2025, he sent the first three names to the Senate \u2014 including postings to the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Just three days later, he forwarded another 32 nominees \u2014 a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94694,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gam_disable_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2022,37964],"tags":[57,9169,691,13],"class_list":["post-94693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gtv-exclusive","category-top-video","tag-africa","tag-ambassador","tag-nigeria","tag-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ambassadors return: Tinubu sends 35 names to Senate - GuardianTV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After more than two years without permanent ambassadors, President Bola Tinubu has finally moved to refill Nigeria\u2019s empty diplomatic seats.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/guardian.ng\/tv\/ambassadors-return-tinubu-sends-35-names-to-senate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ambassadors return: Tinubu sends 35 names to Senate - 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