UPDATED: Senate to receive ambassadorial nominees soon – Minister
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has addressed concerns regarding the delay in the nomination of ambassadors, attributing the holdup to the inherent nature of governance and political processes.
Speaking at the 5th edition of the Ministerial Press Briefing in Abuja on Thursday, Tuggar reassured the public that the list of ambassadorial nominees would soon be forwarded to the Senate for approval.
He acknowledged the delay, stating, “The delayed nomination of ambassadors is what it is. It is the nature of governance and politics. You work with the circumstances you find yourself.”
The minister assured that the nominations have been concluded and will be submitted in the near future.
“I want to assure you that in the near future, names of the nominated ambassadors will be forwarded to the Senate. It is something is more or less that is concluded,” Tuggar assured.
In the interim, Tuggar emphasised that mission officers are managing Nigeria’s embassies and ensuring that diplomatic operations continue without disruption.
“We have mission officers running the embassies for now. We have immigration, defence, military officers, and several others. It does not mean that the missions are halted simply because an ambassador has not been appointed. Our missions are functioning,” he said.
The minister also addressed a separate issue regarding infants evacuated from Gaza.
He explained that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, worked with the Red Cross to handle the situation.
Tuggar noted that the Red Cross had approached the ministry for assistance in relocating vulnerable infants from Gaza to hospitals in countries like Jordan, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.
He explained that after careful consideration, the ministry decided not to risk bringing the infants to Nigeria due to their fragile health conditions, such as heart defects.
Instead, Tuggar said, “We used our good offices and diplomacy to contact the governments of Jordan, the UAE, and Egypt, and impressed upon them the need to take in such children. That’s exactly what happened.”
