By Oluwatosin Maliki
The deadline given to Nigerian ambassadors who were recalled by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has passed, and many have not returned due to a lack of available funds for their repatriation.
QUEST TIMES learned that the deadline for the recalled ambassadors to return to Nigeria officially ended on October 31, 2023. However, many of them are still stranded abroad.
An ambassador, speaking to Vanguard, insisted that their Authority to Incur Expenditures (AIEs) for their repatriation has not been provided, contrary to the ministry’s claims. He stated, “I have packed my boxes. I plan ahead but I can’t return because nothing (money) has been sent by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.”
Recall that on September 2nd, President Bola Tinubu ordered all of Nigeria’s envoys, both career and non-career, to return to the country. They were initially mandated to return on or before October 31st. Nigeria has no fewer than 300 foreign missions.
However, it has been learned that just last week, many ambassadors lamented the fact that their AIEs had not been sent to facilitate their return. Some reliable sources suggest that their recall date has been extended to December 31, 2023.
In addition, the ambassadors have also complained about a cash crunch, noting that allocations have not been remitted to the missions since June. They have expressed concerns and warned that Nigeria should avoid any international embarrassment. They have also pointed out that the recall and replacement process of ambassadors takes about six to eight months due to the acceptance of envoys by host nations after the screening, which takes six to eight months to complete.
The ambassadors have reportedly appealed to President Bola Tinubu to extend the October 31st deadline for their recall to enable their children and wards to take their promotion exams. This would help streamline the academic calendar and avoid disrupting their education by dropping a year.
They have also mentioned threats by various service providers to take the Nigerian Foreign Missions to court over the non-payment of service charges. They are urging the President to quickly intervene in the matter before the entire nation is embarrassed.
However, according to the Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Yusufu Tuggar, the October 31st deadline is firm and an embargo has been placed on the foreign Missions’ accounts to curb frivolous spending by the ambassadors.
A Foreign Affairs Ministry official has stated that the ambassadors were expected to return on or before October 31st, and some have already returned, while a few have informed their host countries about their departure because they have been paid. The official claims that the payment began on October 24th and will be completed on October 25th.
Nevertheless, another ambassador has disclosed that they are anxiously waiting for the payment, as it has not yet been received. This has escalated tension in the missions and embassies because they are stranded.
Additionally, another envoy has explained that no fewer than 120 ambassadors are currently expecting payment, and each of them is entitled to at least $20,000, which means the Federal Government needs a total of $2.4 million to recall the diplomats.
Regarding the opposition to extending the October 31st recall date, an Ambassador said that the minister was upset with the envoys because they had pointed out his protocol breaches when he was having his portrait in a blue background similar to that of President Tinubu, among other protocol breaches.
The envoy stated that asking the minister’s assistant to issue a policy statement is a breach of protocol since a director in the ministry should be the one responding to them. The civil servants are reportedly upset, and there is dissatisfaction within the bureaucracy.
In a standard process, ambassadors are given two months’ notice to prepare for their exit after AIEs are sent with cash. In this case, no cash was sent, and the minister was insisting on the October 31st deadline.