Trump Recalls US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, in Global Diplomatic Shake-Up

• President Donald Trump has recalled US Ambassador to Nigeria Richard Mills as part of a wider diplomatic overhaul affecting more than two dozen countries, with Africa recording the highest number of recalls.

President Donald Trump has recalled Richard Mills, the United States ambassador to Nigeria, in what appears to be a major diplomatic shake-up across America’s global missions.

Reports indicate that over two dozen countries are affected by the recall exercise, with Africa emerging as the most impacted continent.

Nigeria is among 15 African countries whose envoys have been recalled. Others include Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia and Uganda.

In the Asia-Pacific region, affected countries include Fiji, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Across Europe, the shake-up impacted Armenia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovakia, while Guatemala and Suriname were affected in the western hemisphere.

According to State Department officials, the affected chiefs of mission were informed last week that their tenures would end in January.

It was gathered that many of the recalled ambassadors assumed office during President Joe Biden’s administration and had initially survived an earlier shake-up in the early months of Trump’s second term, which largely targeted political appointees.

However, the situation reportedly changed on Wednesday when the diplomats began receiving formal notices from officials in Washington DC regarding their imminent departure.

Ambassadors typically serve for three to four years. Mills was confirmed as US ambassador to Nigeria in May, making his recall relatively early in his tenure.

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The development comes amid strained US–Nigeria relations, particularly over visa restrictions and security concerns, even as both countries continue efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Just last week, Mills met with Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, to discuss areas of collaboration following comments by US Congressman Riley Moore, who suggested that both countries were close to finalising a “strategic security framework” to combat terrorism in West Africa.

State Department officials clarified that the recalled ambassadors are not losing their foreign service positions. Instead, they will return to Washington and may be reassigned to other roles if they choose.