Nigerian Govt sets up committee to address foreign missions’ debt

The Federal Government has inaugurated a committee to address the debt profile of Nigeria’s foreign missions.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi I. Ebienfa, made this known in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

Ebienfa said that the exercise was to ensure that monies remitted to the missions are judiciously utilized and prudently managed in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration’s financial discipline policy.

He said that with the responses from missions and evidence provided, over 80 per cent of the available funds have been cleared for payments.

According to him, the ministry had also engaged the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to obtain refunds for the shortfall in missions’ allocations in the 2024 fiscal year due to foreign exchange differentials associated with the new monetary policy and the harmonisation of exchange rates.

It could be recalled that the federal government had acknowledged the financial and operational constraints experienced by diplomatic and consular missions abroad.

He stated that Nigeria’s diplomatic missions were not immune to the economic situation at home and its attendant challenges to government operations.

“The financial situation confronting the missions stemmed from budgetary limitations over the years, which resulted in shortfalls in allocations, and have significantly impacted the optimal functioning of many missions abroad and their ability to deliver on their core diplomatic and consular mandates effectively.

“The Federal Government has remained mute on the replacement of substantive heads of missions, who were recalled precisely on September 1, 2023,” the statement said.