FG sacks 25 ambassadors, heads of foreign missions
- The federal government affirms the disengagement of 25 ambassadors and heads of foreign mission
- The government says the disengagement of the ambassadors and heads of missions takes effect from December 31, 2019
- Ferdinand Nwonye, a spokesperson of the foreign affairs ministry, says the affected officials are to hand over to the most senior personnel in their embassies and missions
The Nigerian government, on Tuesday, December 31, disengaged a total of 25 ambassadors and heads of foreign mission, Ferdinand Nwonye, a spokesperson of the foreign affairs ministry, has confirmed.
Legit.ng understands that the affected ambassadors and heads of mission had earlier been informed of the plan to disengage them at the end of 2019, but they had insisted that the sack was sudden.
The ambassadors had complained that the letter of disengagement sent to them by the foreign affairs minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, in November 2019, did not give them time to complete diplomatic activities and prepare for their return to Nigeria.
Onyeama, according to Daily Sun, had reminded the affected officials that they were supposed to have left their positions since 2018, but that their tenures were extended by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The report quoted Nwoye as earlier saying the demand by the ambassadors that they should be given time to pay farewell visits to the presidents of their host countries and carry out other last-minute functions was selfish.
The ministry's spokesperson was quoted as saying a telegram was sent to the ambassadors asking that they hand over to the most senior officers in their respective embassies and missions.
“They should have been disengaged by now. When officers, including ambassadors are recalled, they have to leave.
They can decide from there to go elsewhere. But they should surely disengage from the mission," Nwoye said adding that they cannot remain in office.
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“There is even another telegram that instructed that the most senior foreign service officer should take over from them,” the spokesperson said.
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Buhari recently carried out a major change in the power sector with the appointment of Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad as the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
The appointment was disclosed on Tuesday morning, December 31, in a statement by the federal ministry of power.
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Source: Legit.ng
