President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday night recalled the country’s ambassadors to foreign countries, in what is so far the biggest sack of political appointees since he assumed office almost two months ago.

The President’s directive was believed to have been communicated to the affected ambassadors by the permanent secretary in the foreign affairs, who asked them to hand over to most senior staff in their embassies.

High on the list were Dalhatu Tafida, who headed former president Goodluck Jonathan’s 2011 campaign organisation; former foreign affairs minister, Ojo Maduekwe; Ade Adefuye, and Bianca Ojukwu. They had represented Nigeria in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States of America and Spain respectively.

The Nation newspaper quoted a source who said that some of the ambassadors had already complied with the directive and were already on their way.

“The President has issued a directive to the Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Foreign Affairs to recall all the political appointees currently serving as ambassadors in all parts of the world. It doesn’t matter whether they have just few months to the end of their tenure,” the source told the newspaper.

While the sack did not come as a surprise, considering that this is done by every new government, it has got people talking because the President, who some say is moving rather slowly, is keen to take his time in making decisions.