President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday ordered a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s foreign missions with a view to reducing them. The president, while being briefed by officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by the Permanent Secretary Ambassador Bulus Lolo, said given the nation’s cash crunch that has compelled government to cut down cost of governance, there was the need to reduce the nation’s 119 embassies and consulates offices around the world. According to him, the review will determine the number of essential missions Nigeria needs to maintain abroad so that appropriate standards and quality can be maintained.
“Let’s keep only what we can manage. We can’t afford much for now. There’s no point in pretending,” he added. Buhari also gave an indication of his readi-ness to deal with former governors, former ministers and other former public officeholders who have refused to surrender their diplomatic and official passports after they left office. He told the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to compile a list of former government officials and persons still in possession of diplomatic and official passports illegally for submission to him for possible sanctions.
His order came a day after the Comptroller- General of Immigration Service, Mr. Martin Kure Abeshi, ordered the revocation of diplomatic and official passports issued to the affected officials while in office. Besides former governors and ministers, others who may be in trouble for retaining the diplomatic and official passports are former senators, former members of the House of Representatives, their erstwhile counterparts in state legislatures, former commissioners, former special advisers and former special assistants.
Also to be affected are former chairmen and deputy chairmen of local government areas, all retired heads of government parastatals and retired top public servants. The president said his administration would take necessary action against them. “Something has to be done so that we can get back our respectability as a country. Some people carry official passports and get involved in all sorts of negative acts. We need to do something about it,” the president said. After the meeting with the president, Lolo told State House reporters that Buhari urged the ministry to be realistic enough in the number of foreign mission Nigeria would need.
“We have 119 Missions. He asked the questions whether we need to have that number or we rationalised based on our capacity. Right now, the economy is looking down. We are trying to revive and revamp. It is a matter of time,” he added. The permanent secretary said Buhari approved the setting up of a committee to look at foreign representation “the size and the number of missions on whether or not the number should remain. He said the committee would commence work on the list and revert to the president for further actions on what to be done on the matter.
