THE Federal Government has proposed N53bn to renovate 103 foreign missions, this newspapper reports.
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.
This newspaper had reported that despite the rising allocation to the missions, significant financial challenges remain, with sources estimating that almost $1bn was required to clear arrears and fully fund the nation’s 109 missions worldwide.
On taking office, President Bola Tinubu reassessed Nigeria’s foreign policy and initiated a recall of 83 ambassadors in September 2023.
However, the process of appointing new envoys has faced delays due to financial shortfalls.
The foreign affairs minister confirmed this, citing 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,” Tuggar said during a ministerial briefing in May 2023.
Senior Presidency and Foreign Service officials said the country needs around $1bn to clear backlogs of bills and adequately finance its 109 missions, 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates globally.
An official explained that resolving these issues requires substantial capital expenditure, adding that efforts are ongoing to address arrears and operational shortcomings.
He said, “You see, the major issue is money. Not money to pay them (ambassadors), because how much is their salary and benefits? The main money is CAPEX (capital expenditure). By the time they put the cost together to fix the issues; it is running to almost $1bn.
“Most of those embassies, almost 90 per cent, are rundown. The residence is not good, the embassy does not have a functional office, or their rent has expired. The embassies that are buoyant may not be up to 10 as we speak.”
Another official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not allowed to talk to the media, explained that the allowances of Foreign Service officers are pending.
The official said, “The money required now is for CAPEX to fix some of the residences and embassies, purchase vehicles and pay some of the arrears and overheads for some Foreign Service officers.
“Some of them are owed seven to eight months allowances. Some of them owe rent. The President is trying to iron that out before announcing the list.”
A Foreign Service staff member in one of the missions noted that sending ambassadors into such conditions without resolving these issues would leave them unable to perform their duties effectively.
The official noted, “If you send an ambassador here now, the embassy staff may look up to the ambassador to solve their problems. And the ambassador will be helpless.
“It’s even understandable now because the Head of Chancery and Chargé D’Affairs are civil servants like everyone here. So, we are all in the same boat. But once you send a political head like an ambassador, it’s like sending a president.”
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs has invited the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, his Foreign Affairs counterpart, Yusuf Tuggar, the Director- General, Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, over what it called the poor allocation to the foreign affairs ministry in the 2025 budget proposal.
The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dunoma Ahmed, is also expected to appear alongside the ministers before the committee on January 14, the Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Oluwole Oke, disclosed to The PUNCH on Monday.
Oke, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party representing Oriade/Obokun Federal Constituency, Osun State, noted that the N287bn allocated for recurrent (non-debt) expenditures in the 2025 budget proposal was not enough to meet the ministry’s needs, particularly the funding of the nation’s foreign missions.
In the 2025 Appropriation Bill presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on December 18, 2024, by President Bola Tinubu; the Foreign Affairs Ministry was allocated N66.88bn for capital expenditure and N286.88bn for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure.
Tagged, ‘The 2025 Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity,’ the total estimate is N47.90tn, subject to the passage by the National Assembly.
Speaking with The PUNCH on Monday, Oke said, “The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has invited the Minister for Budget and National Planning, DG Budget Office, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs over poor allocation in the 2025 budget proposal. They are to appear before us on Tuesday, January 14, 2025.
“The needs assessment conducted by the ministry showed that they need N1.5tn. Assuming the Federal Government of Nigeria cannot meet this in a single financial year and working in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act and Medium Term Expenditure Framework approved by the Parliament for the 2025 budget formulation, the least the ministry and her missions should get should not be less than N500bn. We need also to be mindful of the unstable exchange rate.”
According to him, the ministry’s programmes in 2025 would require huge funding, citing the annual subscriptions to dozens of international organisations and allowances for Foreign Service officers.
“We have a lot of subscriptions to international organisations to be paid including passage allowances to Foreign Service Officers, United Nations General Assembly in 2025 to be catered for among others,” he said.
He observed that the poor funding of the ministry might be a plot to frustrate the Federal Government’s effort in projecting a positive image before the global community.
“I hope the ministers and DG Budget Office are not out to undermine Mr President who is the chief marketer of Nigeria or if you like, the chief diplomat of Nigeria,” he added.
While acknowledging the N13tn proposed for debt servicing in the 2025 fiscal year; the lawmaker said foreign missions should be allowed to own properties using the mortgage model.
He continued, “We need to allow the missions to acquire properties using mortgages ditto for car leasing because these are the models in most host countries.
‘’We can thereafter budget annually for servicing the mortgages in our budgets rather than paying huge rents in Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and several other missions.