By Francis Ajuonuma
Nigeria’s diplomatic image has taken another hit as the Federal Government admitted that several embassies and consulates abroad are buckling under severe financial strain, with mounting rent debts, unpaid salaries, and service arrears threatening their operations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a candid admission, said years of budget shortfalls had left Nigerian missions struggling to function, forcing some to default on obligations to staff, landlords, and host countries.
“These financial constraints have placed restrictions on the smooth running of our missions,” Ministry spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said in a statement.
He acknowledged that the impact has been most visible in the inability to pay locally recruited staff, settle service providers, and even remit Foreign Service allowances to Nigerian officers abroad.
The disclosure comes amid rising concerns from the diaspora over the capacity of Nigerian missions to deliver basic consular services, with reports of citizens left stranded, visas delayed, and diplomatic staff working without pay.
Diplomats privately warn that the situation not only embarrasses Nigeria internationally but also undermines its credibility as Africa’s largest economy.
While conceding that the embassies’ troubles mirror the harsh economic realities at home, the ministry insisted that steps were being taken to ease the crisis.
It said President Bola Tinubu had approved special intervention funds to offset critical arrears and directed that a committee audit outstanding debts to ensure transparent payments.
According to Ebienfa, more than 80 per cent of available funds have already been cleared, with priority given to landlords, local staff, and unpaid officers’ allowances.
The ministry also confirmed that a tranche of funds had been released to cover foreign exchange losses triggered by Nigeria’s new monetary policy and that second-semester allocations had been approved to stabilise mission finances.
Still, officials acknowledge that these stopgap measures are insufficient, and a more sustainable funding framework is being developed to prevent embassies from falling back into debt.
The government stated that it was collaborating with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank to expedite allocations while exploring “innovative solutions” to finance its embassies abroad.
Despite the difficulties, the ministry praised Nigerian diplomats for continuing to serve under “difficult circumstances” and thanked host governments for their patience.
It expressed confidence that the challenges, though damaging to Nigeria’s reputation, were temporary and would be overcome through Tinubu’s broader public sector financial reforms.
For now, however, Nigeria’s foreign missions remain in distress, caught between underfunding at home and rising obligations abroad, leaving the country’s global image dented at a time when it seeks to project renewed leadership on the international stage.
