British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday sacked the minister, who helped end three years of political stalemate in Northern Ireland.
This, prompted criticism that Johnson was indifferent to the fate of the province.
Julian Smith, who was appointed as Northern Ireland Minister in July 2019, said that serving the people of Northern Ireland had been the biggest privilege.
Smith was central to restoring Northern Ireland’s devolved government, a key element of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord.
He won him praise at the time from all sides of the political divide.
Johnson is undertaking a wider reshuffle of his ministers on Thursday.
Colum Eastwood, the leader of the SDLP, one of the five parties that re-entered the regional assembly, said Smith’s approach had been central to breaking the logjam after his predecessors had tried and failed in successive talks.
“It defies belief that after the successful restoration of power sharing following a…
Source: News Agency of Nigeria
