There are indications that the Federal Government has decided to extend the stay of the ambassadors and envoys by another three months, few days to the end of their tenure which was terminated in September this year.
President Bola Tinubu, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuga, had communicated the heads of foreign missions of the directive to return him by October ending.
However, since the directive was made, NPO Reports learnt that the Foreign Affairs Ministry has been unable to deal with issues relating to their entitlements including travel allowances.
It was also gathered that the government was compelled to extend the stay of the ambassadors because there have been adequate selection of replacements for the recalled envoys.
One of the ambassadors told the NPO Reports on phone late Tuesday that “the whole thing looks confusing.” 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.
The AIE explains the details of the entitlement of each envoy in terms of their passages and other travel arrangements to return to Nigeria.
The AIEs had been released but noted that there was no cash-backing, hence the extension of their stay till January 2024.
There are also fears that should the ambassadors be recalled without adequate provisions for replacement, Nigeria’s image abroad would be affected. “I think Government is fully of that challenge,” an official of the ministry of foreign affairs said Tuesday night.