By Michael Olugbode
Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin (Rtd), and former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (Rtd), have gotten their ambassadorial postings.
Olonisakin will represent Nigeria in neighbouring Cameroon, with Buratai deployed to Benin, another neighbouring country.
The announcement was made at a brief ceremony in Abuja on Tuesday, where the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, presented letters of credence to the two ex-service chiefs.
According to a statement signed by the information officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Kimiebi Ebienfa: “The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Geoffrey Onyeama on 22 June 2021, presented Letters of Credence to the Ambassador-Designate of Nigeria to the Republic of Cameroon, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin (Retired) and the Ambassador-Designate of Nigeria to the Republic of Benin, Lt.Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai (Retired).”
He added that. “The Minister of Foreign Affairs during the brief ceremony congratulated the immediate past service chiefs on their appointment by Mr. President and called on them to deploy their wealth of experience to promote Nigeria’s interest during their tour of duty in countries of accreditation.”
However, the statement was silent on the postings of the other former service chiefs, Vice Admiral Ibok- Ette Ibas (Rtd), Naval Staff; Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar (Rtd), Air Staff and Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Usman (Rtd), Defense Intelligence.
