For the past five to six months, at least 450 foreign service officers from 109 Nigerian missions overseas have not received their paychecks, which has left them in financial hardship and unable to pay for necessities like rent and tuition. Tuggar: AES Exit Will Impact AfCFTA, AES, and ECOWAS Kimiebi Ebienfa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ acting spokeswoman, acknowledged the problem and gave his word that the ministry was trying to find a solution.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
He was hopeful that the newly enacted 2025 Appropriation Act would have a favorable effect on the ministry’s finances and the overseas missions once President Bola Tinubu signs it into law. Nigerian missions still have a serious lack of financing, even with recent increases in budgetary allocations. Over a four-year period, the ministry spent ₦251.71 billion on salaries, with personnel expenditures rising yearly:
2021: ₦73.14 billion (₦34.38 billion for salaries)
2022: ₦88.09 billion (₦55.27 billion for salaries)
2023: ₦98.11 billion (₦62.30 billion for salaries)
2024: ₦160.06 billion (₦99.76 billion for salaries)
2025 Proposal: ₦353.77 billion (₦214.64 billion for personnel costs)
Furthermore, 103 foreign missions will be renovated in 2025 with ₦53 billion set up for this purpose. The money is intended for official vehicles, office furnishings, ambassadors’ homes, staff quarters, and chanceries. Among the distributions are:
Abidjan: ₦554 million
Banjul: ₦812 million
Brazzaville: ₦555 million
Port of Spain: ₦558 million
Caracas: ₦576 million
Kingston: ₦624 million
Libreville: ₦567 million
Buenos Aires: ₦409 million
Niamey: ₦899 million
Officials claim that several embassies are still having difficulty operating due to a lack of finance. Since President Tinubu recalled 83 diplomats in September 2023, the process of choosing replacement ambassadors has been halted, which has made the issue worse. Yusuf Tuggar, the minister of foreign affairs, said that embassy operations and ambassadorial posts had been halted due to a lack of money.
He declared, “If you do not have the money for ambassadors to even travel to their designated country and to run the missions effectively, there is no point sending them out.” Numerous foreign service officers have not been paid since August or September 2024, according to several ministry sources.
Employees at the embassy are experiencing more and more financial difficulties; some are finding it difficult to pay for necessities like rent and service provider fees. Speaking anonymously, one insider detailed how embassies accrued debt and were being sued by service providers for unpaid invoices. “Some service providers have brought some missions to court, and the debts are mounting,” he stated.
The quality of consular services offered to Nigerians overseas has been affected by the financial crisis, according to another source, with embassies finding it difficult to process passports and help citizens in need. According to a foreign service officer who finished his duty tour last year, some diplomats were compelled to buy office supplies including paper, ink, and toners with their own money.
Past Underfunding and Difficulties with Policy Rasheed Akinkuolie, a former diplomat, linked the financing crisis to a long-standing practice of underfunding diplomatic missions that began when the military took over the country in 1983. He pointed out that the 2025 budget for the foreign affairs ministry is still insufficient when divided among 109 missions.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a budget of $233 million, or ₦353 billion, for 2025. The Nigeria hefty Commission in London, which was given ₦7 billion (about £3.6 million), struggles with hefty operating costs, including minimum wage pay of £1,500 per month for drivers. “If spread across 109 missions, this amounts to very little,” he noted. Akinkuolie also said that the tradition of budgeting in both US dollars and naira should be restored, criticizing the impact of exchange rate fluctuation on budget allocations.
“While domestic operations should be funded in naira, missions should receive their allocations in dollars directly from the Central Bank,” he recommended. Speaking anonymously, a retired ambassador said that the situation has been “persistent for quite some time,” and that it has been made worse by the dearth of ambassadorial appointments. He expressed relief at being retired and no longer touched by the crisis.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
