President Bola Tinubu has appointed Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, following the resignation of Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar
This was contained in a statement released by the presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday. Tuggar recently stepped down to participate in the 2027 elections.
Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu previously served as Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In the same vein, the president has nominated Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye as the new Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, subject to Senate confirmation.
Until his nomination, Ambassador Enikanolaiye, from Kogi State, served as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and International Relations.
STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT TINUBU NAMES BIANCA ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU AS MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, NOMINATES AMB. SOLA ENIKANOLAIYE AS MINISTER OF STATE
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs,… pic.twitter.com/4pSUc9FDS7
— Bayo Onanuga, OON, CON (@aonanuga1956) April 29, 2026
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Enikanolaiye is a distinguished diplomat and seasoned public servant with over three decades of exemplary service in Nigeria’s foreign service. He has previously served as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and held key diplomatic postings in Addis Ababa, Belgrade, Ottawa, London, and New Delhi.
According to Onanuga, the president noted that the appointments are part of ongoing efforts to reposition Nigeria’s foreign policy architecture for greater efficiency, strategic engagement, and stronger global partnerships.
President Tinubu congratulated the appointees and urged them to work diligently to promote Nigeria’s national interest, advance economic diplomacy, foster regional stability, and safeguard the welfare of Nigerians at home and abroad.
‘Truly honoured’
Following her new appointment, the minister thanked Tinubu for his “trust and confidence in my abilities”.
“I am truly honoured to step into this new position and wish to express my most profound appreciation to our nation’s President. Your Excellency, I am truly humbled by your trust and confidence in my abilities,” she wrote in a post on her Facebook page on Thursday.
“I look forward to contributing even more to the continued success of the 4D Foreign Policy Priorities of the Renewed Hope Agenda, our citizen diplomacy imperatives, and reaffirm to the good people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, my unwavering commitment towards advancing our national interests in the global arena.”
Bianca was first nominated as a minister in a minor cabinet reshuffle in October 2024. An accomplished diplomat, lawyer, and beauty pageant titleholder, she is the widow of former Biafran warlord Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
In 2011, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan appointed her as Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs. She later became Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ghana and, thereafter, Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain.
The appointments are the latest in the minor reshuffle by President Tinubu. A few weeks back, Wale Edun left his post as the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy.
Edun handed over to Taiwo Oyedele, who was the Minister of State for Finance. Oyedele, until that appointment, spearheaded Nigeria’s new tax laws, signalling what experts believe is a new dawn in the country’s taxation system.
