OBITUARY: FELIX EDOBOR AWANBOR -NIGERIAN AMBASSADOR TO BELGIUM- DIES @ 58

His Excellency Mr. Felix Edobor AWANBOR was born on 21st September 1956 in Benin City and completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Benin-City before proceeding to the University of Ibadan for his undergraduate studies in September 1977.  He graduated with a B.Sc. Political Science, Second Class (Upper Division) Degree in 1980 before he was appointed as Foreign Affairs Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in September 1981.

Ambassador Awanbor completed his professional course at the Nigeria Foreign Service Academy in 1983 and obtained a Postgraduate Masters Degree in International Law and Diplomacy at the University of Lagos in 1988. In the course of his career, Ambassador Awanbor has attended several professional training courses in Nigeria and Overseas.  He has served in several diplomatic Missions abroad, including Tehran, Moscow, New York and Paris.

Ambassador Awanbor attained the position of a Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 2006. His professional competence has been greatly enhanced by his training and hands-on experience at the Foreign Ministry Headquarters in Abuja and diplomatic Missions abroad.  His practical experience and diplomatic skill are invaluable asset to the Nigeria Foreign Service. Ambassador Awanbor has maintained an impeccable record as an accomplished diplomat for over three decades. His character and conduct are above board and his capabilities and effective job performance are unassailable.

Considering his 31 years cognate experience as a career diplomat, Ambassador Awanbor has gained mastery of the intricacies of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, having worked in several Departments in the Ministry and served in different capacities as Administrative Officer, Foreign Service Inspector and Special Assistant to four Permanent Secretaries. He had served as Political and Economic Desk officer in several diplomatic Missions abroad, including the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations, New York, where he had his first overseas training from 1983-1984 and returned later to serve in the same Mission from 2003-2007 as a senior diplomat.

Ambassador Awanbor’s organizational and managerial skills have also been tested and significantly enhanced in the course of his duties as Director of Foreign Service Inspectorate before he was appointed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His Excellency Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Belgium, Luxembourg and to the European Union.

Mr Awanbor died on January 15, 2015 in  Belgium due to illness. He is survived by Mrs. Susan Awanbor and children.