India and other yet-to-be-reported countries have rejected some of President Bola Tinubu’s newly appointed ambassadors-designate, citing diplomatic practices that oppose receiving envoys from administrations with fewer than two years remaining in office.
High-ranking sources in the Presidency and the Foreign Service revealed on Tuesday that India, where career diplomat Ambassador Muhammad Dahiru has been assigned to serve, has a long-standing policy of not accepting ambassadors from administrations with fewer than two years remaining.
Our source learned that the Asian behemoth is using its discretionary powers to reject the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ request to accept Dahiru’s placement.
The information backs up an earlier exclusive investigation by this newspaper in February 2026, in which sources disclosed that storms were brewing for many of Tinubu’s ambassador-designates, who faced the risk of rejection by host countries due to time limits on their terms.
Three different sources acquainted with the topic, who spoke on the condition of anonymity owing to the sensitive nature of diplomatic negotiations, said the federal government was already receiving signals from New Delhi and possibly other capitals about their unwillingness to grant approval.
Agrément is the formal consent granted by a receiving country to accept a diplomat designated by the sending government, and it is required before an ambassador can take office.
“They don’t accept an ambassador from an administration that has less than two years in office. So they are giving us that body language already,” a presidency official told our correspondent.
The source continued, “Some countries are reluctant to accept some people, not because of the individuals but because of time. They are already seeing the Tinubu government as an outgoing government.
“So their concern is that he has just one year left, so what if he doesn’t win the election? Another government may come and remove them. We also understand that some countries have this policy. Any ambassador from an administration that has less than a year or two in office will not get accepted. And one of such countries is India.”
Another source, a senior foreign service official, confirmed India’s position but expressed hope that Nigeria could leverage its relationship with New Delhi to secure an exception.
“I know India has that policy. If you are less than two years from the end of the tenure, there will be difficulties accepting an ambassador. Maybe we can leverage our relationship with them to scale through that.
“Of course, there are those among them who gauge political tides, and some may see that this government can win the next election. Perhaps they may see that the election may not be so competitive because virtually everybody has moved towards the APC. They may say the chances for APC’s victory are high. That is one of the arguments the government will push forward,” the official said.
The source stressed that while India is the only country with a confirmed policy against short-tenure ambassadors, other nations may follow similar conventions.
“India is the only one I can confirm to you for now. The others will be based on their conventions and practices. But the one I know for sure now is India. We will have to do a lot of convincing because they have a standing rule,” the official stated.
A third official revealed that while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had secured funding for the mandatory induction course for ambassadors-designate, the timeline remains uncertain.
“On the training, we don’t know when for now. But the Foreign Ministry has the funds already to undertake the induction course,” the source said.
Tinubu on Friday, March 6, approved the postings of 65 ambassadors-designate and high commissioners to various countries and the United Nations, with Ambassador Dahiru assigned to serve in New Delhi.
Among the 65 nominees are former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode (Germany), former presidential aide Reno Omokri (Mexico), a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (China), and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (UN Permanent Representative).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has so far gained approval from the United Kingdom for High Commissioner-designate Aminu Dalhatu and France for Amb. Ayodele Oke, leaving the status of the remaining 63 envoys uncertain.
It was gathered that several countries may insist that ambassadors have a minimum tenured period of a year or two tied to the life of the sending country’s administration.
A foreign service official had then revealed, “The problem we have, which we are trying at the moment to see what we can do about, is that most countries, like India, will tell you that if an ambassador has less than one or two years, they may have issues.
“Usually, one year counts to the end of any current administration. So, that is where there might be a challenge. By the time they get the agreement, some of these ambassadors will have just a few months left.”
The official mentioned that some ambassadors may not commence their tours of duty until August 2026, which would leave them with barely nine months before the next election.
“Some people may not go before August because some countries will take their time to do background checks. When you send the name, sometimes they will respond, ‘Send someone else.’ And when you insist on asking why, they will give you their own report of their background checks. Or they may just ignore you for six months,” the official disclosed.
According to Article 4 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, receiving governments must consent before any ambassador can be accredited.
In a conversation with our correspondent, Nigeria’s previous envoy to Singapore, Amb. Ogbole Amedu-Ode, stated that receiving governments were only being pragmatic by taking into account Nigeria’s political calendar before accepting an envoy.
“The underlying word here is pragmatism. Those receiving states are just being pragmatic if they take that view because the next round of general elections is in a year from now, in February and March.
“The question is now about an envoy from a president who is facing an election in a year. Elections, no matter how we think we understand them, can go either way.
“So, why receive letters of credence from a principal envoy from a president who has just one year and some months remaining for his first term in office? So, they may dilly-dally in issuing an agreement,” Amedu-Ode said.
He stated that the administration’s delay in nominating ambassadors was a mistake.
“The mistake has been made by the current administration already because they shouldn’t have waited two to three years into their term before the nomination, screening, and deployment of heads of missions.”
Since taking office, the Tinubu administration has enhanced relations with India.
In September 2023, the president traveled to India as a guest nation to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi, where he met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss bilateral cooperation in defense, agriculture, trade, and investment.
Just over a year later, in November 2024, Modi paid his first visit to Nigeria in 17 years and the first by an Indian prime minister since 2007.
During the two-day visit, the leaders signed Memoranda of Understanding on cultural exchange, customs cooperation, and survey cooperation, as well as discussed the expansion of the India-Nigeria Strategic Partnership, which was created in 2007.
Tinubu awarded Nigeria’s second-highest national title, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, to Modi, making him only the second foreign dignitary to receive the award after Queen Elizabeth II.
