NEWS
Debt Burden: FG Sets Up Presidential Committee to Restructure Foreign Missions
By Edozie Obasi-Eze
Rattled by the heavy debt-burden hovering on Nigeria’s diplomatic missions across the world, the Federal Government has set up a Presidential Committee to review both their existence and operations.
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This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday, in Abuja by the director of press, office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Willie Bassey.
The statement revealed that the SGF, on Tuesday, inaugurated a 13-member Presidential Committee on the Review of Number and Strategy for Resourcing Nigeria’s Diplomatic Missions Worldwide.
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According to the statement, the Committee was charged with reviewing all previous reports on the establishment of foreign missions and measures taken to effectively and economically manage Nigeria’s Mission; and to also identify challenges facing those Missions and make appropriate recommendations on their sustainability.
While inaugurating the 13-man committee, Mustapha decried the level of indebtedness confronting the foreign missions and said that the report of the committee would enable the Presidency identify and tackle the root causes of the critical state of affairs of the diplomatic missions, and ascertain its likely impact on the image of Nigeria across the world.
Mustapha said, “As we are all aware, our Diplomatic Missions around the world are currently faced with multifaceted challenges following, among others, the scale of perennial indebtedness they find themselves.
“This poses attendant damage to our nation’s integrity. Consequent upon these, Mr. President approved the constitution of this Presidential Committee.”
He pointed out that “the cost-saving measures taken by the previous administrations in reviewing the foreign missions had not yielded the desired results, hence the constitution of the Committee”.
According to the SGF, the committee should come up with a broad-based and sustainable service-wide solution, in relation “to institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Federal Civil Service Commission, among others”, so as to holistically address the challenges in short, medium and long-term bases.
The Committee which was given a 3-month timeline has the following as part of its Terms of Reference: to determine the current number, categories of Nigeria’s Diplomatic Missions; subject matter desks worldwide and categorize their strategic importance and impact worldwide and make appropriate recommendations; Identify and categorize the revenue generation capacity of missions, performance in this regard, causes and level of indebtedness.
Also in the Committee’s terms of reference are, reviewing the understanding and application of critical extant policies, guidelines, circulars, codes, regulations, financial management systems, statutes, etc, across Nigeria’s Missions with a view to minimizing bottlenecks, misapplication and infractions.
In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the Committee, Ambassador Martin Uhomoibi (retired Federal Permanent Secretary), thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for the confidence reposed in him and the members of his Committee to review the foreign mission service with the aim of repositioning it for effective service delivery.
Ambassador Uhomoibi assured the SGF of the preparedness of the committee to not only succeed at the task before them, but to also exceed all expectations.
A helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi yencountered a “hard landing” on Sunday.
According to report, the incident took place near Jolfa, a city situated on the border with Azerbaijan, within Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, approximately 600 kilometers northwest of Tehran.
However, details regarding the incident were not disclosed.
The Associated Press noted uncertainty regarding whether bh Raisi was onboard the helicopter during the incident.
Despite rescue efforts, adverse weather conditions, including heavy rain and wind, have hindered access to the site, according to state TV.
Before the helicopter incident, President Ebrahim Raisi had been in Azerbaijan on Sunday to participate in the inauguration of a dam alongside Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
This dam marks the third joint construction project between the two nations on the Aras River.
Despite Iran’s diverse helicopter fleet, obtaining parts is hindered by international sanctions, with much of its military air fleet dating back to pre-1979 Islamic Revolution era.
Raisi, aged 63, is known for his hard-line stance and previously served as the country’s judiciary leader.
Considered a protégé of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, some analysts speculate that Raisi could succeed the 85-year-old leader in the event of his resignation or demise.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s military prevented an attempted coup on Sunday near President Felix Tshisekedi’s offices in Kinshasa, as reported by an army spokesperson.The Democratic Republic of Congo’s military prevented an attempted coup on Sunday near President Felix Tshisekedi’s offices in Kinshasa, as reported by an army spokesperson.
According to him, the plot, involving both foreigners and Congolese citizens, unfolded in the early hours outside the residence of Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe in the Gombe district, close to the president’s offices at the Palais de la Nation.
General Sylvain Ekenge announced on national television that the defence and security forces had successfully thwarted the coup attempt.
He said “An attempted coup d’etat has been stopped by the defence and security forces. The foreigners and Congolese…including their leader” would “all no longer cause any harm”.
Shots were heard near the Palais de la Nation during the attempted coup, as confirmed by various sources.
General Ekenge didn’t elaborate further on the incident, and AFP’s attempts to get additional information from official sources remain unanswered.
However by late morning, the city appeared calm.
Early social media reports suggested an armed attack on Kamerhe’s residence, with some assailants heading towards the Palais de la Nation.
“This morning, there was an armed attack at the residence of the economy minister,” wrote Japan’s ambassador Hidetoshi Ogawa on X.
He stated that Kamerhe “was not harmed, but two policemen and an assailant were killed according to sources.”
France’s ambassador reported hearing automatic weapons fire in the area and advised French nationals to steer clear of the location.
Videos circulating on social media depicted individuals in military attire at the Palais de la Nation, waving flags of Zaire, the former name of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during the regime of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who was ousted in 1997.
Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has dismissed all transition committee chairmen in the state’s 21 local government areas.
This decision was detailed in a letter titled “Expiration of Tenure and Handover to Heads of Local Government Administrations (HLGAs),” dated May 17, 2024, and signed by Collins Nwabunwanne, the state Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Community Affairs.
According to the letter, the directive will be effective starting Monday, May 20, 2024.
The letter read, “Following the expiration of your tenure as Transition Committee Chairman, you are hereby directed to handover the affairs of your Local Government Council to the Head of Local Government Administration (HLGA), in your respective Local Government Councils.
“This directive takes effect from Monday, 20th day of May, 2024. Thank you for your service to the state. All replies to be addressed to the Honourable Commissioner.”
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