The Federal Authorities has allotted a complete sum of N2.83 billion to the cost of electrical energy fees of 109 Nigerian embassies, consulates, and Excessive commissions in numerous nations.
That is primarily based on Nairametrics’ summation of the proposed electrical energy fees of all Overseas Missions within the 2025 finances.
The 2025 Appropriation Invoice, submitted to the Nationwide Meeting by President Bola Tinubu, comprises the budgets of 109 international missions beneath the Ministry of Overseas Affairs. They comprise 76 Embassies, 22 Excessive Commissions, and 11 Consulates.
All 109 Overseas Missions budgeted a complete of N2,837,016,127 for electrical energy fees as a part of their annual overhead expenditure.
The Overseas Missions with the best finances for electrical energy fees embrace these in New York (everlasting mission), London, and Harare with N304.9 million, N113.9 million, and N91 million respectively.
The Overseas Missions with the bottom finances for electrical energy fees are these in Ouagadougou, Cairo, Islamabad, and Doha with N6.2 million, N6.6 million, N7.9 million, and N7.94 million respectively.
Nigerian embassies are poorly funded
Nigeria’s Overseas Missions have suffered from poor or delayed funding through the years, leading to poor illustration of Nigerians abroad or embarrassing disputes with host nations. There are situations the place nations publicly name out Nigeria’s Overseas Missions over utility money owed.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, as soon as lamented about poor overhead budgetary provisions to Nigerian missions overseas, admitting that lots of them swam in debt and had been unable to pay utility payments and hire.
Nairametrics reported, final yr, that the South African authorities disconnected the electrical energy of the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg over unpaid payments. The consulate which needs to be considered a Nigerian territory was thrown into darkness, a actuality of many voters at residence.
Tinubu fails to nominate ambassadors virtually two years after
In the meantime, 16 months after he assumed workplace, President Bola Tinubu has didn’t make use of Ambassadors and Excessive Commissioners for Nigeria’s Overseas Missions, placing diplomatic ties and illustration of diasporans on the road.
- The President recalled all Ambassadors and Excessive Commissioners in September 2023 sparing solely the nation’s Everlasting Representatives on the United Nations in New York and Geneva.
- In what appeared like a transfer to fill vacuums, the President, in April 2024, appointed 12 Consuls-Normal and 5 fees d’affaires in 14 nations. Nonetheless, they rank decrease than resident Ambassadors and Excessive Commissioners, and should not be capable to maintain diplomatic engagements on the highest ranges within the nations they had been deployed to.
- The present Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar justified the administration’s refusal to nominate Ambassadors and Excessive Commissioners on the premise that the federal government is concentrated on addressing the troubling financial challenges that have an effect on residents at residence.
He additional argued that Nigeria’s Overseas Missions had not been adequately funded and it was essential to make sure funds are made out there for Excessive Commissioners and Ambassadors earlier than they’re appointed.
“We met a state of affairs the place Overseas Affairs was not being funded like the best way it needs to be. Some loopholes are exploited by the likes of Binance. It’s a cash downside. There isn’t any level sending out ambassadors in the event you would not have the funds for them to even journey to their designated nation and to run the missions successfully, one wants funding,” he stated.
What you need to know
The absence of Nigeria’s high-ranking diplomatic representatives in different nations exposes residents in these nations to an absence of illustration or at worse human rights violations within the host nations.
Many Nigerians have taken to social media to complain of poor remedy or unprofessional providers at Nigerian embassies once they go for providers equivalent to renewal of Worldwide passports. A few of these challenges are attributed to poor funding as some embassies and consulates have been seen to be understaffed.
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