By Clifford Ndujihe, Politics Editor
Although the deadline for recalled ambassadors to return to Nigeria ended yesterday, a host of them are still stranded abroad and can’t return because of funds.
“I have packed my boxes. I plan ahead but I can’t return because nothing (money) has been sent by the Foreign Affairs Ministry,” an ambassador told Vanguard, insisting that their Authority to Incur Expenditures, AIEs, on their passages has not been contrary to the claim of the ministry.
On September 2, President Bola Tinubu recalled all Nigeria’s ambassadors both career and non-career.
They were asked to return on or before October 31. Nigeria has no fewer than 300 foreign missions.
Last week, many ambassadors said their AIEs had not been sent to facilitate their return with impeccable sources saying that their recall date had been extended to December 31.
The ambassadors also complained of cash crunch saying allocations had not been remitted to the missions since June. Besides they warned that Nigeria could be subjected to avoidable international embarrassment because the recall and replacement of ambassadors take about six to eight months on account of Agreement (acceptance of envoy by the host nation after screening, which takes six to eight months to be completed).
The Ambassadors reportedly appealed to President Bola Tinubu to extend the October 31 deadline for their recall to enable their children and wards to take their promotion exams and consequently streamline the academic calendar in order not to truncate their education by dropping a year.
The ambassadors also spoke on threats by various service providers to take the Nigerian Foreign Missions to court for non-payment of service charges, and begged the President to intervene before the entire nation was embarrassed.
October 31 deadline remains —Minister
However, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Yusufu Tuggar, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Strategic Communication, Mr. Alkalis Abdulkarim, said contrary to reports, the October 31, deadline was sacrosanct and further placed embargo on the foreign Missions Accounts ”to check frivolous spending by the Ambassadors.“
Indeed, a Foreign Affairs Ministry official reportedly said that the ambassadors were expected to return on or before October 31 that some had returned, and a few had informed their host countries about their exit because they had been paid. The official claimed that the payment started on October 24 and would be concluded on October 25
We’re yet to receive any paymen.t—ambassador
However, an ambassador told Vanguard, yesterday, that they were yet to receive any payment and “tension is escalating in the missions and embassies because we are stranded.”
120 ambassadors await $20,000 AIE
Another envoy told Vanguard, that no fewer than 120 ambassadors are expected and each of them is entitled to at least $20,000. This means the Federal Government needs $2.4m to recall the diplomats.
Why Foreign Affairs minister opposed extension of Oct 31 recall date
Another ambassador told Vanguard that the minister was angry with envoys because they pointed out his protocol breaches in having his portrait in blue background as that of President Tinubu and committing many other protocol breaches.
The envoy said: ”Asking his assistant to issue a policy statement is a breach of protocol because a director in the ministry should be the one responding to us. So, the civil servants are angry. The Bureaucracy is very upset. What does a PA or SA know to be talking to ambassadors on policy matters.
Ordinarily, ambassadors are given two months’ notice to tidy up their exit after AIEs are sent with cash. In this case no cash was sent and the minister was insisting on October 31.” (vanguard)
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