Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has expressed his best wishes to Ms Catriona Laing CB, the outgoing United Kingdom High Commissioner to Nigeria.
Prof Osinbajo expressed his goodwill to Ms Catriona farewell, during her farewell visit to the Office of the Vice President at the Statehouse, Abuja, on Friday, March 31, 2023.
Ms Catriona was appointed His Majesty’s High Commissioner to the Federal Republic of Nigeria in November 2018, as she rounded off her service as the British Ambassador to Zimbabwe from 2014 to 2018.
The outgoing British High Commissioner, Catriona, has extensive experience representing the UK in many capacities, having joined the FCDO in 2012 as the UK’s senior civilian representative to the NATO operation in southern Afghanistan.
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Before this period, she was the Director of Human Rights and International at the Ministry of Justice from 2009 to 2012; Head of DFID in Sudan from 2006 to 2009; Head of DFID’s International Division Advisory Department from 2005 to 2006 and seconded to the Cabinet Office as Deputy Director of the Prime Minister’s strategy unit from 2001 to 2005.
Catriona was awarded The Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2012 New Year Honours.
British High Commissioner to Nigeria
The High Commissioner is the UK government’s representative in a Commonwealth nation. They are responsible for the direction and work of the High Commission and its Deputy High Commissions and/or Consulates, including political work, trade and investment, press and cultural relations, and visa and consular services.
Catriona would be succeeded by Mr Richard Montgomery whose appointment has been announced by the British authorities to take effect from April 2023.
This is, however, not Montgomery’s first posting to Nigeria as he had worked as a Counsellor (Development) and Head of Office, DFID Nigeria, from 2009 to 2013.
