NIGERIA’s embassies and consular missions abroad are facing mounting financial distress, with staff salaries, allowances, and office rents left unpaid for months, News Point Nigeria gathered.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the development on Monday, attributing the crisis to persistent budgetary shortfalls and the impact of recent foreign exchange policy reforms.
In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the ministry acknowledged that the situation had strained the smooth functioning of several missions, leaving them unable to meet key obligations to their staff and service providers.
“The ministry is not unaware of the restrictions that financial limitations have placed on the smooth running of the missions, including the inability to pay salaries of locally recruited staff, financial obligations to service providers, rent to landlords, and the foreign service allowance to home-based officers,” the statement read.
The ministry stressed that Nigerian diplomatic posts abroad were not immune to the economic realities at home, noting that inadequate funding over the years had weakened their capacity to perform core duties such as international diplomacy, consular services, and citizen protection.
Despite the grim situation, the Federal Government assured Nigerians that the welfare of foreign service officers and their families remains a top priority for President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
According to the ministry, special intervention funds have already been released to ease the burden. It disclosed that over 80 per cent of available funds have been disbursed, prioritising payments to service providers, local staff salaries, and arrears owed to officers.
“To guarantee transparency, a verification committee was established to review the debt profiles of missions and ensure that payments were legitimate and equitably shared,” the ministry said.
The government also linked part of the problem to exchange rate volatility triggered by ongoing monetary reforms.
“The financial shortfall from the 2024 fiscal year, occasioned by fluctuations in the exchange rate, is already being addressed. The first tranche of payments has been remitted, and some missions have confirmed receipt,” the ministry explained.
It further revealed that a second tranche of allocations had been approved and was currently being processed with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria to fast-track disbursement for personnel and overhead costs within the week.
Looking beyond the immediate crisis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it was working on a sustainable financial framework for Nigeria’s foreign missions, in alignment with broader fiscal reforms being implemented across the public sector.
“These efforts are integral to the wider financial reforms of the Federal Government, designed to enhance fiscal governance and ensure effective allocation of resources,” the statement added.
While expressing appreciation to diplomatic staff, host governments, and service providers for their patience, the ministry maintained that the current challenges were temporary and would soon be overcome.
“We are confident that the current challenges are temporary and will be overcome through the concerted efforts of this administration. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirms Nigeria’s commitment to robust and dynamic international diplomacy, as well as the unwavering protection and welfare of every Nigerian citizen worldwide,” it assured.