President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reportedly extended the stay of envoys and career and non-career ambassadors by three months.
Recall that on September 2, President Bola Tinubu recalled all Nigeria’s ambassadors, and asked them to return to the country on or before October 31.
However, it was gathered that the envoys were stranded as the Federal Government was foot-dragging on implementation and had not released AIEs (Authority to Incur Expenditures) for their passages to them.
An ambassador, who craved anonymity, told Vanguard on Tuesday that the AIEs had been released but noted that there was no cash-backing, hence the extension of their stay till January 2024.
The ambassador said he feared that the three-month extension might not be adequate to complete the process of recalling and replacing ambassadors, which he said takes about six to eight months.
He, however, warned that poor handling of the policy could cause Nigeria avoidable international ridicule and embarrassment.
He said: “Following the Vanguard report, the AIEs for the passages have been sent out, but the cash backing has not been processed due to the current cash crunch facing the country. Most missions are in a serious financial mess.
“The last overhead meant for the last semester of the year, July to December, has not been sent out. Traditionally, it is received by the end of June every year. With the current exchange rate and naira depreciation, there is a serious shortfall in allocation to missions.”
He said due to the initial challenges of every new government in settling down, the President Tinubu Administration has not had sufficient time to carry out necessary consultations for the appointment of replacements for the outgoing ambassadors.
