About 450 foreign service officials in 109 Nigerian missions are facing financial distress as they are yet to receive their salaries of over five to six months. According to Punch, the officials serving under the ministry of foreign affairs cannot afford to pay rent, school fees or meet other social obligations.
However, the acting spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, has acknowledged the financial struggles facing the Nigerian Mission.
Ebienfa disclosed that the ministry is aware of the difficulties, promising that the leadership is working towards addressing the situation.
Furthermore, he assured that there will be a positive impact on finances in the ministry once the president signs the bill of 2025 appropriation act into law.
Meanwhile, the report says that the ministry has spent N251.71 billion on salaries in 4 years and this comes after the increased budgetary allocation to the ministry and the mission.
Additionally, in 2021, a total of N73.14 billion was budgeted by the ministry with N34.38 billion set aside for personal expenditure. In 2022, the ministry budgeted N88.09 billion, spending N55.27 billion salaries.
In 2023, the ministry got N98.11 billion as budget while N62.30 billion allocating for personnel costs. Meanwhile in 2024, the ministry also received N160.06 billion, setting aside N99.76 billion for salaries.
However in 2025, the foreign ministry proposed N353.77 billion with N214.64 billion for personnel, N66.82 billion for capital expenditure. The Federal Government also proposed N53 billion for renovation of 103 foreign missions this year.
According to reports, the funds will cover various needs, like renovation of staff quarters, purchase of office furniture, among others. However, despite the increased appropriation, the staffs of the mission are still struggling to finance their operations and renovations.
Furthermore, reports established that the delay in the appointment of new ambassadors added more bottlenecks to the situation.
