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Nigerian embassies hit by unpaid rent, salary arrears

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The Federal Government has admitted to mounting financial and operational difficulties across Nigeria’s diplomatic and consular missions abroad, blaming budgetary shortfalls and foreign exchange policy changes for the strain.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the admission on Monday in a statement by its spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa.

The ministry acknowledged that the challenges had disrupted the smooth functioning of several missions, leading to delays in the payment of salaries for locally recruited staff, allowances for home-based officers, and rent owed to landlords and service providers.

“The ministry is not unaware of the restrictions that financial limitations have placed on the smooth running of the missions, including the inability to pay salaries of locally recruited staff, financial obligations to service providers, rent to landlords, and the foreign service allowance to home-based officers,” the statement said.

While stressing that the situation mirrors the broader economic realities affecting the country, the ministry noted that inadequate funding over the years had significantly undermined the capacity of missions to perform their core diplomatic duties.

“It is pertinent to state, however, that the Nigerian diplomatic missions are not immune to the economic situation at home and its attendant challenges to government operations. The financial situation in our missions stems from budgetary limitations over the years, resulting in shortfalls in allocations,” the ministry added.

The statement assured Nigerians at home and abroad that the welfare of foreign service officers and their families remains a top priority for President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

“The government is taking decisive and concrete steps to address the issues of fund allocation to all its missions abroad,” the ministry said, disclosing that special intervention funds had been released to ease the burden on affected posts. According to the ministry, over 80 per cent of available funds have already been disbursed, with priority given to service providers, salaries of local staff, and arrears of officers’ claims.

To guarantee transparency, a verification committee was established to review the debt profiles of missions and ensure that payments were legitimate and equitably shared.

The ministry also confirmed ongoing engagement with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to recover shortfalls from the 2024 fiscal year, which it linked to exchange rate fluctuations caused by recent monetary policy reforms.

“To mitigate its impact, the government of President Bola Tinubu has graciously approved the settlement of the shortfall,” it said, adding that the first tranche of payments had already been remitted, with some missions confirming receipt.

It further disclosed that a second tranche of allocations had been approved, with coordination ongoing with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria to fast-track the release of personnel and overhead funds this week.

Looking ahead, the ministry said it was working on a more sustainable financial framework for the country’s missions, aligning with the government’s broader fiscal reforms aimed at efficient resource allocation and improved governance.

“These efforts are integral to the wider public sector financial reforms being implemented by the Federal Government, designed to enhance fiscal governance and ensure effective allocation of resources,” the statement noted.

The ministry expressed appreciation to diplomatic staff, host governments, and service providers for their patience and cooperation, while expressing optimism that the difficulties would soon be overcome.

“We are confident that the current challenges are temporary and will be overcome through the concerted efforts of this administration. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirms Nigeria’s commitment to robust and dynamic international diplomacy, as well as the unwavering protection and welfare of every Nigerian citizen worldwide,” it stated.

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SERAP demands NNPCL’s explanation on alleged missing N22.3bn, $49.7m, others

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The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has called on the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari, to explain the whereabouts of alleged missing oil funds amounting to N22.3bn, $49.7m, £14.3m, and €5.2m, reportedly unaccounted for in the company’s financial records.

The civic group, in a letter dated October 25, 2025, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said the missing sums were documented in the 2022 annual report recently published by the Auditor-General of the Federation on September 9, 2025.

SERAP urged Ojulari to identify and hand over those responsible for the alleged diversion or misappropriation of the funds to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission for prosecution.

It also demanded that the missing funds be recovered and returned to the national treasury without further delay.

“These grim allegations by the Auditor-General suggest a grave violation of public trust, the Nigerian Constitution, anti-corruption laws, and the country’s international obligations,” the organisation stated.

According to SERAP, the Auditor-General’s findings point to “systemic corruption” within the NNPCL, which has “undermined Nigeria’s economic development, trapped millions in poverty, and deprived citizens of access to essential public services.”

The group noted that the Auditor-General has, over the years, consistently documented similar reports of unremitted or missing oil revenues, lamenting that “ordinary Nigerians continue to bear the brunt of widespread corruption in the oil sector.”

It said,“Combating the corruption epidemic in the oil sector would alleviate poverty, improve access of Nigerians to basic public goods and services, and enhance the government’s ability to meet its human rights and anti-corruption obligations.”

SERAP further alleged that the misappropriated oil revenues reflected a broader failure of accountability and transparency at the NNPCL, contributing to Nigeria’s rising debt levels and deficit spending.

The group said, “Had the NNPCL accounted for and remitted these diverted or misappropriated oil monies, more funds would have been available for education, healthcare, and other critical sectors. The level of borrowing by the government would also have been reduced.”

SERAP gave the NNPCL a seven-day ultimatum to take the recommended steps or face appropriate legal action to compel compliance.

Quoting details from the 2022 audited report, SERAP highlighted numerous irregularities in NNPCL’s accounts, including: a ₦292m abandoned contract for an Accident and Emergency Facility in Abuja; over £14m allegedly spent to repair its London office without evidence of execution; an irregular $22.8m payment to a contractor for crude lifting, with unclear justification.

Others include a N2.3bn paid as car cash options to 100 staff without requisite approvals; ₦12.7bn unremitted operating surplus for December 2020, and the €5.1m paid for jetty operations with no supporting documents.

Multiple cases of undocumented or fictitious contract payments running into billions of naira and millions of dollars.

The Auditor-General reportedly expressed fears that much of the money “may have been diverted or misappropriated” and called for its recovery and remittance to the treasury.

SERAP cited Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which mandates public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power, urging the NNPCL to act transparently in the public interest.

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Tompolo distances self from call for Kanu’s release

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The leadership of the PBAT Door To Door Movement, a pro-Bola Tinubu group, has said its Grand Patron, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, is not part of the call for the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

The group also dissociated Tompolo from a purported 21-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government to release Kanu.

“This claim is entirely baseless and the handiwork of desperate propagandists, fake news merchants, fifth columnists, and agents of disunity,” the National Coordinator of the group, Sunday Asuku, said in a statement on Sunday.

Kanu is expected to open his defence on Monday in the terrorism charges filed against him at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

This follows the adjournment of the trial by Justice James Omotosho of the court on Friday.

The PUNCH had reported that Justice Omotosho granted the adjournment after Kanu informed the court that his former legal team, led by a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, had yet to release his case file to him.

Commenting further, Asuku said the orchestrators of the news sought to create tensions and instigate the FG against Tompolo, saying the move had “fallen like a pack of cards in the face of his exemplary commitment to national peace and development.”

He pointed out that those behind the narrative had been unsettled by Tompolo’s support for President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The movement urged security agencies to investigate and bring those behind the news to book.

Asuku said, “These elements are bent on creating tension and undermining the patriotic efforts of a man who has remained an icon of peace, unity, national development, socio-economic and political diversity, regardless of tribal, religious, zonal or political affiliation.

“It is evident that Chief Tompolo’s unwavering support for President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda has unsettled certain groups uncomfortable with his growing influence in advancing national stability and economic progress. However, their attempt to malign his image through fabricated narratives will fail.

“For the avoidance of doubt, at no time did Chief Tompolo issue any statement or directive regarding the legal proceedings involving Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. The matter is before a competent court of law, and any attempt to interfere with due process would be both unpatriotic and unlawful.

“The PBAT Door To Door Movement wishes to emphasise that issues bordering on national unity and security must be treated with utmost responsibility and sensitivity.

“The reckless use of social media to circulate divisive propaganda not only undermines the integrity of public discourse but also poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s collective peace and development.”

ASuku added, “We therefore call on the Department of State Services and other relevant security agencies to thoroughly investigate and bring to book those behind this reckless act. The deliberate spread of misinformation poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s unity and security, and such actions must not be allowed to go unpunished.”

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Edun emerges boxing federation president

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The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has emerged as the new president of the Nigerian Boxing Federation.

The global economist and transformative boxing enthusiast was voted unopposed, recording all twelve (12) votes at the elections held at the Package B indoor sports hall of the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, on Saturday.

In his post-election remarks, the minister pledged reforms and structural changes to elevate boxing across the board in Nigeria.

However, the position of the vice president was not a walk in the park as Hon. Omonlei Imadu, the southwest representative, defeated his counterpart from the North Central zone, Mighty Mike, by eight votes to four in the closely contested poll.

Imadu, who has long won the hearts of boxing followers in the country with his several grassroots programs, praised the emergence of Wale Edun as the right person to lead the Nigerian Boxing Federation to its glory days.

“I make bold to say it’s a new dawn for boxing in the country, the Honorable Minister is very passionate about the sport and this he has shown over the years with a plethora of grassroots initiatives across the nation.”

“I and the other board members will work closely with the Hon. Minister Wale Edun to achieve his vision for Nigerian boxing,” Imadu said.

The NBF vice president further acknowledged the National Sports Commission under the leadership of Shehu Dikko as Chairman and Hon. Bukola Olopade as the Director General, for upholding the integrity of the commission through transparency, fairness, and accountability in the electoral process.

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