After 8-Month Uncertainty, Mexico Clears Omokri To Serve As Ambassador

The Mexican government has formally approved Reno Omokri’s appointment as Nigeria’s ambassador to Mexico, bringing an eight-month wait for diplomatic clearance to an end.

Omokri announced the development in a post on X on Tuesday, saying the Mexican government had granted the diplomatic approval, known as agrément, required for his appointment.

According to him, José Manuel Briseño Flores, chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of Mexico in Abuja, presented the formal approval to Babagana Wakil, director of protocol at Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The approval clears the way for Omokri to serve as Nigeria’s ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Mexico, with concurrent accreditation to Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Expressing gratitude over the development, Omokri said the diplomatic clearance was formally conveyed in Abuja.

“To God be the glory, the Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of the United Mexican States in Abuja, Mr José Manuel Briseño Flores, today in Abuja delivered the agrément from the Government of the United Mexican States accepting me,” he said.

The approval resolves the delay that had surrounded Omokri’s posting since President Bola Tinubu approved the deployment of ambassador-designates and high commissioners earlier in the year.

In March, Tinubu approved the posting of 65 ambassador-designates and high commissioners to their respective countries, with Omokri assigned to Mexico.

However, his deployment remained pending because the Mexican government had yet to communicate the formal diplomatic consent required to complete the process.

The delay was subsequently acknowledged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which said in August that Mexico and Japan were among the countries that had yet to formally approve two outstanding ambassadorial appointments.

The ministry explained that it was engaging the relevant authorities in the affected countries to secure the necessary clearances, expressing confidence that the approvals would be communicated in due course.

With Mexico’s approval now secured, the uncertainty surrounding Omokri’s appointment has been resolved.

Agrément is the formal consent granted by a receiving country before a diplomat nominated by another country can be appointed as its ambassador. It is a standard requirement in diplomatic practice and precedes the completion of an ambassador’s accreditation process. (daily trust)