The Nigerian government, on Tuesday, December 31, disengaged a total of 25 ambassadors and heads of foreign mission, this was confirmed by the Federal Government, after a shot notice was issued to the affected diplomats.
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.
As some of the envoys pleaded for two to three months extension in order to complete some diplomatic formalities before their disengagement, they were reminded of the tenure extension given to them by President Buhari in 2018.
Ferdinand Nwonye, a spokesperson of the foreign affairs ministry who confirmed the disengagement of the envoys on Tuesday December 31, said in a previous statement that the call for an extension by the ambassadors and heads of missions was selfish.
He said;
“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.
“They cannot remain. There is even another telegram that instructed that the most senior foreign service officer should take over from them.”
