Former presidential aide Lauretta Onochie has lashed out at President Bola Tinubu over his failure to appoint new ambassadors nearly two years after recalling Nigeria’s envoys from across the globe.
Onochie accused Tinubu of running the country “like a private WhatsApp group,” and prioritizing flattery over foreign policy.
The sharp criticism comes as Nigeria’s foreign missions remain without substantive heads since September 2023, when Tinubu ordered the global recall of ambassadors. Despite the move, no replacements have been named, leaving diplomatic posts in limbo.
Taking to her X handle on Wednesday, Onochie slammed Tinubu’s approach to international relations, claiming he’s more interested in being “idolised and worshipped” by countries like St. Lucia and Kazakhstan “for the right price.”
“A strategist who doesn’t know that Nigeria needs ambassadors to relate with the rest of the world is running Nigeria like a private WhatsApp group,” she wrote.
The diplomatic vacuum has drawn growing criticism from analysts and political insiders who say Nigeria’s global standing is being undermined by the prolonged absence of official envoys.
