The Federal Government has allocated N2.1 billion in the projected 2025 budget for the posting and return benefits of ambassadors and officers, according to PUNCH.
A total of N53 billion has also been suggested for the restoration of 103 foreign embassies, which includes chanceries, staff quarters, ambassadors’ houses, office furnishings, and official vehicles.
The proposed allocations include N554 million for the foreign mission in Abidjan, N812 million for Banjul, N555 million for Brazzaville, N558 million for Port of Spain, N576 million for Caracas, N624 million for Kingston, N567 million for Libreville, N409 million for Buenos Aires, and N899 million for Niamey.
President Bola Tinubu summoned 83 ambassadors in September 2023 to review Nigeria’s foreign policy.
However, the process of naming new envoys has been delayed due to financial restrictions.
Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, confirmed the financial deficits, noting that selecting ambassadors without enough travel and mission resources would be unproductive. He stated, “We saw a scenario in which international affairs was not properly funded. Binance, for example, takes advantage of some loopholes. It’s a money problem.
There is no use in sending out ambassadors if you do not have the means to allow them to fly to their designated country, and funding is required to run missions efficiently.
“Mr President is working on it, and it will be done in due course,” Tuggar said during a ministerial sectoral briefing in Abuja in May.
Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, stressed that the nomination of ambassadors includes both career and political appointments, who must undergo comprehensive screening and receive National Assembly confirmation. “Remember that the ambassadorial list contains two parts.
There are two types of ambassadors: career and political. The international affairs list and the consolidated list will still go through certain steps before being publicized,” he stated.
However, retired diplomats have expressed worry about the extended absence of substantive leaders for Nigeria’s embassies.
Rasheed Akinkuolie, a former consul in Cameroon, emphasized the significance of functional embassies in sustaining diplomatic ties. He stated, “The delay in choosing ambassadors may be due to internal difficulties that must be resolved before appointing ambassadors.
The international community’s major interest is having a functioning embassy. Closing an embassy is a severe event that would deal a significant harm to diplomacy and foreign relations. “The process of appointing ambassadors could be lengthy.” Even after the ambassador has been appointed, the host country must accept the nominee.
Security checks and Senate clearance are among the steps involved in the process. These are lengthy and arduous procedures that cannot be hastened.”
Similarly, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, a retired Nigerian ambassador to Mexico, warned that the continued absence of envoys could harm Nigeria’s international reputation, particularly considering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ financing issues. “It is usually acceptable for diplomatic missions to be without substantive heads for a short length of time.
But their absence for a year leaves much to be desired, especially given the ministry’s financing issues,” he remarked.