US Ambassador Vacancies: Nigeria Among 117 Countries Left Hanging
By: Abudu Olalekan
Washington just dropped a bombshell. Or rather, they quietly published a document. On April 8, 2026, the State Department’s Office of Presidential Appointments released their “Ambassadorial Assignments Overseas” list. And it’s not pretty.
Nigeria’s spot is empty. So are 116 others.
I got the document Thursday. Let me tell you, reading through it is like walking through a ghost town of American diplomacy.
The vacancies? They’re everywhere. Africa alone has dozens: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burundi… I could keep going, but you get the picture. We’re talking Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, South Africa isn’t even mentioned which tells you something about how comprehensive this gap is. The list just goes on and on.
Europe’s not spared either. Germany—yeah, Germany—doesn’t have a confirmed US ambassador. Neither does Norway, Russia, Ukraine, or about 15 others. Asia and the Middle East? Same story. Afghanistan, South Korea, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam… all waiting.
The Americas have their share too. Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Jamaica, Venezuela. Even Australia and New Zealand in Oceania are empty. It’s honestly easier to list who doesn’t have a vacancy at this point.
This didn’t happen overnight. Back in December 2025, President Trump’s administration recalled nearly 30 career diplomats from senior posts worldwide. The Guardian reported it at the time, citing AP. Fifteen of those were in Africa alone.
The official line? Reshaping diplomatic representation to match foreign policy priorities. The reality? A massive global game of musical chairs where the music stopped and nobody’s sat back down.
Sure, ambassadors serve at the president’s pleasure—that’s how it always works. But pulling this many at once? That’s… aggressive. And it’s left some serious gaps in America’s diplomatic presence. Gaps that matter when you’re trying to actually conduct foreign policy, you know.
Nigeria’s been without an ambassador for months now. So has most of the countries I mentioned. The State Department’s list makes it official, but anyone watching this administration saw it coming.
