FG Spent ₦14 Billion On 16 Foreign Missions Without Envoys — Report

Amid significant delays in appointing new ambassadors to oversee Nigeria’s diplomatic missions, the Federal Government has disbursed approximately ₦14 billion to at least 16 foreign missions in July 2024.

Nigeria, with 109 missions spread across the globe, including 76 embassies, 22 high commissions, and 11 consulates, has been without official diplomatic representatives since September 2023.

This comes after President Bola Tinubu’s directive on September 2, 2023, recalling all career and non-career ambassadors appointed by his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.

The recall affected 83 ambassadors—41 non-career and 42 career—who were instructed to return to Nigeria by October 31, 2023.

Since then, the country has faced mounting public concerns regarding its diplomatic representation and the operational effectiveness of its foreign missions.

The delay in appointing new ambassadors has been attributed to financial and economic challenges, as explained by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, during a ministerial sectoral briefing in Abuja in May.

Tuggar stated that the ministry has not received the necessary funding to operate effectively, highlighting that the government’s focus has shifted from subsidizing consumption to subsidizing production.

Tuggar also pointed out the complications posed by emerging financial platforms like Binance and the rise of cryptocurrencies, which have further undermined the economic reforms that were beginning to show benefits.

He emphasized that appointing ambassadors without the financial resources to support their travel and effectively run missions abroad would be futile.

However, checks by Punch using GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks and analyses the Federal Government’s spending, showed that the government disbursed the sum of N13.7bn for the personnel costs of 16 foreign missions.

The overseas missions are those located in The Hague (Netherlands), Tokyo (Japan), Vienna (Austria), Washington (United States), Berlin (Germany), Brasilia (Brazil), Brussels (Belgium), Paris (France), Beijing (China), Geneva (Switzerland), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), London (United Kingdom), Madrid (Spain), Moscow (Russia), New York (USA), and Ottawa (Canada).

The funds were wired through the FGN Treasury (TSA Settlement Centre) on Friday, July 19, and Monday, July 29, 2024.

On the last day, The Hague received ₦504,071,400, Tokyo ₦761,253,100, Vienna ₦505,361,900, Washington ₦1,115,260,900, Berlin ₦813,678,400, Brasilia ₦564,693,300, Brussels ₦593,438,800, UNESCO Paris ₦545,086,850, Beijing ₦657,566,000, Geneva ₦830,278,500, and Jeddah ₦527,993,000.

Others include London ₦1,233,706,800, Madrid N803,821,400, Moscow ₦516,013,500, New York (CG) ₦915,844,500, New York (PM) ₦1,523,174,400, Ottawa ₦631,663,800, and Paris ₦611,712,300, while New York (PM) also received ₦576,147,689 on the first day.

Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, a former Nigerian ambassador to Singapore, Ogbole Ode, said even though paucity of funds had hindered the appointment of the envoys, the heads of missions at the consulate level had been deployed.

He noted that in the Foreign Service accounting system, there were different subheads, one of which were for personnel, adding that the free fall of the Nigerian currency often increased the naira value of the funds the government disbursed to the overseas missions.