Nigeria’s foreign missions run on interim basis

11.03.2008

Nine months after President Umaru Yar’Adua recalled several Nigerian ambassadors around the world including the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Nigeria’s diplomatic missions are being managed on interim basis, Empowered Newswire reported.

Although the Yar’Adua administration has named new envoys and the Senate has confirmed them , Nigeria’s diplomatic missions across the world are yet to receive any of them. Even a clear official statement is yet to be issued regarding which ambassador is going to what country, except media speculations.

Official sources said this was due in part to the need by the Federal Government to complete arrangements with the host country which would normally conduct their own checks on the candidates and return relevant diplomatic documents.

However, other diplomatic and foreign sources at the United Nations and the US insist that the process is not as cumbersome as the Nigerian government sources are portraying noting that nine months is far too long a period to accomplish what sources describe as a simple and routine diplomatic posting. For instance when the US government nominated a new envoy to Nigeria, it took only one month from the time of her appointment by the State Department and confirmation by the US Congress.

For instance, Nigeria recalled the ambassadors in June last year including the envoy to Washington, DC, and the US recalled its own envoy in Nigeria one month later in July. Ambassador John Campbell left Nigeria in July 2007, after Professor George Obiozor was recalled in June the same year.