President Bola Tinubu has approved the posting of former Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Mr. Kayode Are, as Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to the United States, in a major diplomatic deployment aimed at strengthening the country’s strategic foreign relations.
The appointment, announced on Thursday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, also confirmed Mr. Ayodele Oke as Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to France.
In the same batch of postings, Ambassador Aminu Dalhatu, a former envoy to South Korea, was appointed High Commissioner-designate to the United Kingdom, while former Kebbi State Governor, Alhaji Usman Dakingari, was named ambassador-designate to Turkey.
The postings come as President Tinubu prepares for a state visit to Turkey next week, underscoring renewed momentum in Nigeria’s diplomatic engagement after a prolonged period of vacancies at foreign missions.
According to the Presidency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been directed to formally notify the host countries of the appointments in line with established diplomatic protocols.
Are, who hails from Ogun State, and Mr. Oke were among the non-career ambassadors confirmed by the Senate last month following a rigorous screening process.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Sani Bello, said the nominees were found suitable to represent Nigeria’s interests abroad.
The three envoys formed the first set of ambassadorial nominees forwarded to the Senate by President Tinubu in November, marking the end of nearly two years without substantive ambassadors in several key missions.
Later that month, the President submitted an additional list of 32 nominees, which included former presidential aide Reno Omokri, ex-INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu, former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode, and former Oyo State First Lady, Mrs. Fatima Florence Ajimobi.
In December, the Senate confirmed 64 nominees, bringing the total number of approved ambassadors to 67. Of this number, 34 are career diplomats, while 33 are non-career appointees.
The Presidency had earlier indicated that the envoys would be deployed to countries and multilateral organisations of strategic importance to Nigeria, including the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and permanent missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO and the African Union.
