Africa
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has arrived in Qatar to a warm reception to assume duty as Nigeria’s new Ambassador to the Gulf state of Qatar.
Yakubu was received in Doha on June 17, by Ambassador Ibrahim Yousif Abdullah Fakhro, director of the Protocol Department at the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The welcoming party included 13 African envoys accredited to Qatar – Algeria, Burundi, Morocco, Tanzania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, Togo, Benin, and the Central African Republic. They were led by Amb. Thierno Abdoulaye Sow of the Republic of Guinea, President of the Bureau of African Ambassadors in Qatar.
Amb. Yakubu was among the 65 career and non-career ambassador-designates who the Nigerian Senate successfully screened. After orientation in the home country, an envoy-designate must receive an Agréement (approval) from the host country, and upon arrival, present the Credential Letters before accreditation.
From the hot seat of one of Africa’s most challenging electoral umpires, Amb. Yakubu steps in the diplomatic saddle with the task of improving relations between Nigeria and one of its strategic partner nations in the Persian Gulf.
The two countries formally established diplomatic relations in 2013, coinciding with the opening of resident embassies in each other’s capitals.
Trade between Nigeria and Qatar is growing rapidly, with Nigeria recording a trade surplus of 4.14 billion Naira in March 2026. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the balance of trade in Nigeria’s favour averaged 263 million Naira from 1981 until 2026, reaching an all-time high of 4.14 billion Naira in March 2026 (1,360 Naira =1US$).
Areas of cooperation, driven by bilateral agreements in multiple sectors, include oil, gas, mining, infrastructure, agriculture, trade, education, labour and aviation, with Qatar Airlines operating about 17 flights from and to Nigeria a week.
As part of efforts to further strengthen and expand their cooperation, both countries signed seven bilateral accords during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s visit to Qatar in 2024 that featured high-level meetings with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and officials of both countries.
The bilateral agreements covered regulation of employment of workers with the Government of Qatar, establishment of a joint business council (JBC) between the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), cooperation on youths and sports, tourism, investment and a Memorandum of Understanding on combating illicit trade in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
In May 2025, President Tinubu also received the Qatari Emir’s Special Envoy in Abuja, and welcomed “Qatar investors’ new initiatives to explore opportunities in the agricultural sector and assured that Nigeria remains open to strategic partnerships.”
A.I
June 19, 2026
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