President Muhammadu Buhari said Tuesday in Abuja that his administration would undertake a review of Nigerian foreign missions to determine those that are really essential.

Speaking after being briefed by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bulus Lolo, President Buhari said a presidential committee would soon be established to carry out the review.

The president said the review would determine the number of essential missions Nigeria needs to maintain abroad so that appropriate standards and quality can be maintained.

Nigeria currently has 119 foreign missions abroad, the permanent secretary said. The country will spend N34billion to run the missions in 2015.

The president said there was no point in Nigeria operating missions all over the world “with dilapidated facilities and demoralized staff”, when the need for some of the missions was questionable.

“Let’s keep only what we can manage. We can’t afford much for now. There’s no point in pretending,” President Buhari told Mr. Lolo and other officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The president also called for the record of former government officials and other persons still using diplomatic and official passports illegally, saying his administration will 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.

Mr. Lolo told President Buhari that the challenges facing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs include the absence of a Foreign Service Commission, poor funding of foreign missions, policy inconsistencies and training deficiencies, among others.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/189667-breaking-buhari-moves-to-close-unessential-nigerian-foreign-missions.html

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