Foreign Affairs perm sec meets Accountant-General over missions’ funding

Kindly share this story:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has again raised concerns over its funding difficulties, prompting a visit by its Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Dunoma Ahmed, to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation on Monday.

Ahmed met with the Accountant-General, Dr Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, to press for more reliable financing and faster disbursement of the ministry’s budgeted allocations.

The ministry has struggled in recent years with delayed funding for its missions abroad, resulting in reports of unpaid bills and operational setbacks.

After the meeting, a statement issued by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, on Tuesday said discussions “focused on improving the finances of the Ministry, particularly the timely release of budgeted funds to our diplomatic missions abroad and headquarters, and also engaged in wider deliberations in areas of mutual interest.”

Neither office released details of any concrete commitments made. After nearly two years without substantive envoys following the recalls of diplomats from Nigeria’s 109 foreign missions, President Bola Tinubu on November 26 forwarded three ambassador-designates to the Senate, all of whom have now been cleared.

Three days later, on November 29, the President submitted an additional list of 32 nominees.

Then, on December 4, he sent another letter to the Senate, expanding the list to a total of 65 nominees.

The nominees include former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu; retired Vice Admiral and former Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Ibok-Ete Ibas; former Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu; former Minister Femi Fani-Kayode, among others.

The PUNCH journalist, Gift, has over three years of experience covering elections, security and foreign affairs.

Kindly share this story:

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Contact: [email protected]

UPDATE NEWS: Nigerians can now invest ₦2.5million on premium domains and profit about ₦17-₦25Million. All earnings paid in US Dollars. Rather than wonder, 👉 click here to find out how it work (Be sure to ask for evidence of clients that have benefitted from this)

Stay informed and ahead of the curve! Follow The Punch Newspaper on WhatsApp for real-time updates, breaking news, and exclusive content. Don't miss a headline – join now!

Stay in the know—fast. Get instant alerts, breaking headlines, and exclusive stories with the Punch News App. Download now and never miss a beat.