India, others reject Tinubu’s envoys over tenure policy

India and other yet-to-be disclosed countries have declined to accept some of President Bola Tinubu’s recently posted ambassadors-designate due to diplomatic policies that discourage receiving envoys from administrations with less than two years remaining in office.

High-ranking officials in the Presidency and the foreign service disclosed to The Punch on Tuesday that India, where career diplomat Ambassador Muhammad Dahiru has been designated to serve, maintains a standing policy against accepting ambassadors from governments with tenures of less than two years remaining.

It was gathered that the Asian giant is exercising its discretionary powers to turn down the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ request to accept Dahiru’s posting.

The development confirms an earlier exclusive report by this newspaper in February 2026, in which sources revealed that storms were brewing for many of Tinubu’s ambassador-designates who faced the prospect of rejection by host countries due to time constraints on their tenure.

Three separate sources familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of diplomatic negotiations, said the Federal Government was already receiving signals from New Delhi and possibly other capitals about their reluctance to grant agrément.

Agrément is the formal approval given by a receiving country to accept a diplomat designated by the sending country, and it is a prerequisite before an ambassador can assume duty.

“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.”

A second 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 to 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 emphasised 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 disclosed 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.

President 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), presidential aide Reno Omokri (Mexico), former Katsina State Governor Lt Gen Abdulrahman Dambazzau (China), and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (UN Permanent Representative).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has so far only received agrément from the United Kingdom for High Commissioner-designate Aminu Dalhatu and from France for Amb Ayodele Oke, leaving the fate of the remaining 63 envoys uncertain.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has scheduled the next presidential election for January 16, 2027. Tinubu’s first tenure is set to conclude in May that year.