The United States President, Donald Trump, has recalled the American Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, as part of a wider diplomatic shake-up aimed at realigning Washington’s foreign policy with his “America First” agenda.
The recall of Ambassador Mills is among those of at least 29 career diplomats withdrawn from ambassadorial and other senior embassy positions across the world.
The development was first reported by Politico.
Most of the affected envoys are from African countries, with ambassadors to 15 nations on the continent asked to end their postings.
Aside from Nigeria, the countries include Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, Algeria, Egypt and Uganda.
In the Asia-Pacific region, ambassadors to Fiji, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam were also recalled.
Europe was not left out, as the ambassadors to Armenia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovakia were affected.
Nepal and Sri Lanka were impacted in South Asia, while Guatemala and Suriname were affected in the Western Hemisphere.
All the diplomats involved were appointed during the administration of former President Joe Biden but had remained in office following an earlier reshuffle during the early months of President Trump’s second term, which mainly affected political appointees.
The U.S. State Department has defended the recalls, describing them as a normal practice under a new administration.
In a statement, the department said ambassadors serve as personal representatives of the president and that it is within the president’s right to ensure that envoys align with his policy direction.
Meanwhile, two State Department officials, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the affected envoys were informed last week that their assignments would end in January.
The officials added that although ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the president, they typically remain in office for three to four years.
They clarified that the diplomats were not being dismissed from the foreign service and could return to Washington for other duties if they choose.