By Gift Habib
The United States ambassadorial positions in Nigeria and 116 other countries are currently vacant, reflecting a broader diplomatic gap affecting countries across different regions of the world, according to official records released by the US Department of State.
The document, published on April 8, 2026, via the US Department of State’s website and titled “Ambassadorial Assignments Overseas” by the Office of Presidential Appointments, showed that Nigeria is among 117 countries yet to have a Senate-confirmed US ambassador.
The document was obtained by our correspondent on Thursday.
The affected countries spread across Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas and Oceania.
In Africa, the vacancies exist in countries including Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte 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 list includes countries such as Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Russia, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Ukraine.
In Asia and the Middle East, those affected include Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Iraq, the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
In the Americas, the vacancies extend to countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Commonwealth of Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
Meanwhile, in Oceania, several island nations are also without confirmed US ambassadors, including Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
This development followed earlier diplomatic changes reported in December 2025, when the administration of President Donald Trump recalled nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and senior embassy positions worldwide.
According to a report published in The Guardian, attributing it to AP, the move affected mission chiefs in at least 29 countries, including 15 in Africa.
The recalls were part of efforts to reshape US diplomatic representation in line with the administration’s foreign policy priorities.
Although such envoys typically serve at the pleasure of the president, the large-scale withdrawals raised concerns about gaps in the US diplomatic presence globally.
