OVER 450 foreign service officers in 109 Nigerian missions abroad have yet to receive their salaries for the past five to six months.
The officials, serving under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are in financial distress and cannot pay rent and children’s school fees or meet other family and social obligations.
The acting spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, acknowledged the financial challenges facing the Nigerian missions and assured that the leadership was working to resolve the issue.
He stated, “The ministry is aware of the difficulties faced by the missions abroad, and the leadership is working seriously to address the situation.
“With the recent passage of the 2025 Appropriation Act by the National Assembly, there is strong optimism that the Bill will be signed into law soonest by Mr President and that will positively impact the finances of the ministry and missions abroad.”
Findings indicate that the ministry spent N251.71bn on salaries in four years.
This comes on the heels of the increased budgetary allocation to the ministry and the missions.
In 2023, N98.11bn was approved while N62.30bn was allocated for personnel costs and in 2024, N160.06bn was appropriated while N99.76bn was allocated for salaries.
In the 2025 budget, the foreign affairs ministry proposed N353.77bn, with N214.64bn earmarked for personnel costs, N72.24bn for overheads and N66.82bn for capital expenditure.
The Federal Government equally proposed N53bn to renovate 103 foreign missions this year.
The funds will cover various needs, including renovations of chanceries, staff quarters, ambassadors’ residences, purchase of office furniture, and official vehicles, among others.
Allocations include N554m for the foreign mission in Abidjan; N812m for Banjul; N555m for Brazzaville; N558m for Port of Spain; N576m for Caracas; N624m for Kingston; N567m for Libreville; N409m for Buenos Aires, N899m for Niamey, among others.
Despite the increased appropriation, funding for the missions was insufficient, with many of them struggling to finance their operations and renovations.
This newspaper reported that the situation had been worsened by delays in the appointment of new ambassadors.
Senior Presidency and Foreign Service officials earlier informed our correspondent that about $1bn was required to clear the backlogs of bills and adequately finance the nation’s 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates globally.
On taking office, President Bola Tinubu reassessed Nigeria’s foreign policy and initiated a recall of 83 ambassadors in September 2023.
The process of appointing new envoys has, however, faced delays due to financial shortfalls.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, admitted insufficient funding for essential embassy operations and ambassadorial support.
“There is no point sending out ambassadors if you do not have the funds for them to even travel to their designated country and to run the missions effectively, one needs funding.
“Mr President is working on it, and it will be done in due course,” he said during a ministerial briefing in May 2023.
Sources within the ministry, however, attributed the embarrassing financial situation to poor funding and delays in the 2025 budget passage.
Officials at various embassies disclosed that they had not been paid for several months, with some going without their salaries since August or September 2024.
An official who spoke on the condition of anonymity lamented that the delay in budget approval had left the missions struggling to cover basic operational costs.
This includes rent, embassy staff salaries and payments to service providers.
As a result, the missions have accumulated significant debts, with several service providers taking legal action to recover unpaid dues, the source added.
“This is mid-February, and the budget has not been approved or signed. How are the missions faring under this reality of financial neglect?
“The debts are piling up, and some service providers have dragged some missions to court for redress. Some staff in most foreign missions have not been paid for six months,” the source stated.