Olushola Omogbehin
An official released by the US Department of State, has revealed that the United States currently has no ambassadorial positions in Nigeria and 116 other countries.
According to official records released by the US Department of State, this situation which has left important diplomatic posts unfilled across Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas and Oceania is a diplomatic gap affecting countries across different regions of the world.
According to the document published on the website of US Department of State on April 8, 2026, via the Ambassadorial Assignments Overseas by the Office of Presidential Appointments, revealed that Nigeria is among the 117 countries that have no Senate-confirmed US ambassador.
Countries in Africa where vacancies exist include 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.
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.
Across Europe are Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Russia, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Ukraine.
In Oceania, island nations without ambassadors are Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
The vacancies follow diplomatic changes reported in December 2025, when President Donald Trump’s administration recalled nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and senior embassy positions worldwide.
In a report, The Guardian, attributed it to AP, the move affected mission chiefs in at least 29 countries, including 15 in Africa.
