United States President Donald Trump has ordered the recall of Richard Mills, the American ambassador to Nigeria, in a wide-ranging diplomatic reshuffle that is affecting more than two dozen US missions across the world, with Africa bearing the brunt of the changes.
Nigeria is among 15 African nations whose ambassadors are being withdrawn under the shake-up.
Other countries on the continent affected by the decision include Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia and Uganda.
Beyond Africa, several missions in the Asia-Pacific region are also impacted, including Fiji, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam.
In Europe, the affected countries are Armenia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovakia, while Guatemala and Suriname are the two nations in the western hemisphere involved in the recall.
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State Department officials told The Guardian UK that the envoys were notified last week that their assignments would end in January.
Although many of them had survived an earlier purge at the start of Trump’s second term mainly targeting political appointees new instructions were issued on Wednesday from Washington, DC, confirming their imminent departure.
According to Politico, the move is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to realign US diplomatic representation overseas with the President’s “America First” foreign policy agenda.
A State Department official said the ambassadors were appointed under former President Joe Biden and would now conclude their service as chiefs of mission in January.
While ambassadors typically serve between three and four years, officials stressed that those being recalled are not being dismissed from the foreign service. Instead, they may return to Washington for other roles if they choose.
Mills, who was confirmed as US ambassador to Nigeria in May, is leaving his post at a time when relations between Washington and Abuja have faced strains, particularly over visa policies and security-related concerns.
His recall, however, comes amid parallel efforts by both governments to deepen cooperation.
Only recently, Mills met with Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, to explore areas of mutual interest, following remarks by US Congressman Riley Moore that the two countries were close to finalising a “strategic security framework” aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.
