KEY POINTS
- Nigeria is among 117 countries without a Senate-confirmed US ambassador, per a State Department document dated April 8.
- The gap follows Trump’s December 2025 recall of nearly 30 career diplomats, with Africa losing the most ambassadors of any region.
- The American Foreign Service Association called the mass recalls unprecedented, warning they damage US diplomatic capacity and global credibility.
Nigeria does not have a confirmed United States ambassador, and it is far from alone. Official records from the US Department of State show the ambassadorial post in Abuja is one of 117 vacant seats spread across nearly every region of the world.
The document, titled “Ambassadorial Assignments Overseas” and published April 8 by the Office of Presidential Appointments, lists countries without a Senate-confirmed ambassador. Nigeria appears alongside dozens of other nations across Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas and Oceania.
Africa hit hardest
The vacancies in Africa are the most extensive of any region. The list covers Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Togo.
Across Europe, the absent posts include Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Ukraine.
In Asia and the Middle East, the gaps span Afghanistan, Indonesia, Iraq, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam, among others.
The Americas are also heavily affected, with vacancies in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, among others. In Oceania, Australia and New Zealand are without confirmed ambassadors alongside a string of Pacific island nations.
Recall that started it
The diplomatic gap traces to December 2025, when the Trump administration recalled nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior embassy posts. Africa was the most affected continent, with ambassadors pulled from at least 13 countries including Nigeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Uganda. Asia followed, with changes at six posts.
The recalled envoys were not dismissed from the US Foreign Service but had their roles as chiefs of mission ended, with a return to Washington for potential reassignment.
The State Department described the move as standard practice, with a spokesperson saying an ambassador is “a personal representative of the president and it is the president’s right to ensure that he has individuals in these countries who advance the America First agenda.”
That position was contested by those who represent career diplomats. John Dinkelman, president of the American Foreign Service Association, called the move unprecedented and said it amounted to “a sabotage of the American diplomatic machine.” He noted that the US already had about 80 vacant ambassadorships before the recalls began, making the cumulative gap significantly larger.
Nigeria’s relationship with Washington
The vacancy in Abuja comes at a sensitive moment in Nigeria-US ties. The two countries have clashed over issues including alleged religious persecution, military base negotiations and deportation policy.
A coalition of US lawmakers and international diplomats recently called on President Bola Tinubu to overhaul Nigeria’s defence architecture following Easter attacks on Christian communities, and a resolution condemning religious persecution in Nigeria passed with full bipartisan support in the Florida state legislature.
The American Foreign Service Association warned that mass vacancies reduce the ability of the US to project influence globally, whether through diplomatic engagement, intelligence coordination or crisis response.
With no Senate-confirmed ambassador in place, day-to-day embassy operations in Abuja and scores of other capitals fall to career charge d’affaires operating without the political weight of a presidential appointee.
