By Amofokhai Williams
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has named Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as Nigeria’s substantive Minister of Foreign Affairs, replacing Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, who resigned to focus on his electoral ambitions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a parallel move, the President nominated Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, a career diplomat and former Permanent Secretary in the ministry, as Minister of State.
Enikanolaiye’s appointment is subject to Senate confirmation, while Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s elevation takes immediate effect, having previously served as Minister of State in the same portfolio.
The changes, announced late Wednesday by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, signal a strategic recalibration of Nigeria’s diplomatic machinery less than a year before the next election cycle.
Tuggar’s departure had been widely speculated since he began appearing at political gatherings in his home state of Bauchi, hinting at a gubernatorial or senatorial run.
Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu is no stranger to high-stakes diplomacy. A lawyer, former beauty queen (Miss Intercontinental 1989), and widow of the late Biafran warlord Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, she has served as Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain and Ghana.
Her tenure as Minister of State in Foreign Affairs under Tuggar gave her intimate knowledge of the ministry’s current dossiers, including the ongoing push for a permanent UN Security Council seat for Africa and the complex negotiations around the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) following recent coups in the region.
Her elevation to the top job makes her one of the most recognizable women ever to lead Nigeria’s foreign policy apparatus. Analysts suggest her appointment balances political symbolism with substantive experience.
The nomination of Enikanolaiye as Minister of State is, in many ways, the more technically significant move. A Kogi State-born diplomat with over 30 years of service, Enikanolaiye has served in Nigerian missions in Addis Ababa (AU), Belgrade, Ottawa, London, and New Delhi.
He was Permanent Secretary in the Foreign Ministry until 2024, when he was appointed Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and International Relations.
President Tinubu, in the statement, directed the new team to focus on “economic diplomacy, regional stability, and safeguarding the welfare of Nigerians at home and abroad.”
Yayyyyyy way to go congratulations ma’am