The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu’s administration, describing Nigeria’s absence of ambassadors in key global capitals as a “national humiliation” following the United States’ latest travel advisory warning against visiting Africa’s most populous nation.
National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party said the U.S. government’s Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory citing Nigeria’s worsening insecurity and collapsing healthcare system exposes the Tinubu government’s failure to protect both citizens and the country’s international reputation.
The ADC particularly condemned the prolonged vacancy of Nigeria’s ambassadorial position in Washington D.C., where the damaging advisory originated, calling it an “abdication of responsibility.”
“Not even during the civil war did Nigeria not have ambassadors in place for so long,” the party stated, noting that five G7 nations have changed leadership since Nigerian envoys were recalled in October 2023—with no high-level diplomats in place to engage the new governments.
The party dismissed the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s explanation about ongoing reforms as “smug indifference and bureaucratic deflection,” pointing out that the ministry had earlier claimed ambassadorial nominees were already submitted for presidential approval.
The ADC highlighted alarming sections of the U.S. advisory, which warned that Nigeria’s medical facilities “are generally not equipped to U.S. standards” and advised foreigners to “consider evacuation insurance” before visiting.
“What kind of country are we becoming? One where a visitor must plan for emergency airlift before stepping off the plane?” the party asked.
The ADC challenged Tinubu to move beyond excuses, stating: “Serious governments don’t use reforms as excuses to stop governing.”
“We are absent where we must be present. We are silent where we should be persuasive. We seem to be leaderless at home and invisible abroad,” the statement concluded, demanding immediate ambassadorial appointments to salvage Nigeria’s global standing.
