President Muhammadu Buhari is considering closing some embassies abroad, his office said on Tuesday, as public finances have been hit hard by a slump in oil revenues.
A committee will review all Nigerian embassies to determine those that are essential, the presidency said in a statement.
It quoted Buhari as telling foreign ministry officials there was no point keeping embassies “all over the world with dilapidated facilities and demoralized staff.” “Let’s keep only what we can manage. We can’t afford much for now. There’s no point in pretending,” Buhari said this in Abuja after being briefed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bulus Lolo
With oil accounting for more than 90 percent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and about 70 percent of government revenues, the fall in crude prices and output has hurt finances and the naira currency, with foreign investors pulling out of its stock and bond markets.
The weakening currency has fuelled inflation and driven up the cost of food and other essential imports. President Buhari was elected on promises to fight the endemic corruption and mismanagement of public funds that he believes has led to $150 billion being stolen from state coffers over the past decade.
The president also called for the record of former government officials and other persons still using diplomatic and official passports illegally, saying that 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.
Lolo had informed the president that the challenges facing the ministry included the absence of a Foreign Service Commission, poor funding of foreign missions, policy inconsistencies and training deficiencies, among others.
