Trump Recalls U.S. Ambassador To Nigeria In Diplomatic Shake-up

President Donald Trump has ordered the recall of the United States’ ambassador to Nigeria, Richard M. Mills Jr., alongside 29 other senior diplomats in one of the diplomatic reshuffles of his second term.

Mills, appointed on July 25, 2024, is among 13 ambassadors serving in African countries affected by the decision. Officials familiar with the move said it is part of efforts to realign US foreign policy with Trump’s “America First” agenda.

According to the Associated Press (AP), the affected diplomats, many of whom were appointed during the previous administration but retained into Trump’s early months in office, were notified last week that their tenures would end in January 2026.

“Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the president,” an official told AP, noting that while envoys typically serve between three and four years, the president has the authority to replace them at any time.

Officials who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity said those recalled are not being dismissed from the Foreign Service. Instead, they will be reassigned to positions in the United States if they choose to continue their diplomatic careers.

State Department officials also confirmed to The Guardian that the affected chiefs of mission were informed last week of the decision.

In a statement, the department said an ambassador is a personal representative of the president and that it is the president’s prerogative to ensure envoys abroad advance his policy priorities.

Africa was the most affected region, with ambassadors recalled from 13 countries: Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia and Uganda.

The Asia-Pacific region followed with six recalls involving Fiji, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Elsewhere, envoys were recalled from four European countries — Armenia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovakia — as well as Algeria and Egypt in the Middle East, Nepal and Sri Lanka in South Asia, and Guatemala and Suriname in the Western Hemisphere.