THE Nigerian Government has constituted a committee to review the number of the country’s Diplomatic Missions worldwide, and their level of indebtedness, in order to explore ways to effectively manage them in a sustainable manner.

The 13-man Presidential Committee on the Review of Number and Strategy for Resourcing Nigeria’s Diplomatic Missions Worldwide is headed by retired Permanent Secretary Ambassador Martin Uhomoibi.

Speaking during the inauguration of the committee on Tuesday, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha said the establishment and deliberate composition of the team will enable the government tackle the root cause of the critical state of affairs of Nigeria’s Diplomatic Missions and its impact on the image of the country.

“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,” he said.

Mustapha also noted that some of “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”.

The Committee has been given only three months to determine the current number and categories of Nigeria’s diplomatic missions, identify and classify their revenue generation capacity, level of indebtedness and make appropriate recommendations.

It would in addition review the understanding and application of critical extant policies, guidelines, circulars, codes, regulations, financial management systems, statutes, among others across Nigeria’s missions with a view to minimising bottlenecks, misapplication and curbing infractions.

It would identify cost cutting measures and all other steps required to drastically reduce cost of running the country’s foreign missions and review all assets of Nigeria’s Foreign Missions with a view to document and assess their viability as well as give recommendations for sustainability.

Other members of the Committee are a Retired Permanent Alhaji Sabiu Zakari (Vice Chairman), the Permanent Secretary and Solicitor-General of the Federation Beatrice Edodamen Jedy-Agba, Permanent Secretary, Ecological Project Office, Shehu Ibrahim, retired Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Bulus Lolo, retired Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Saheed K. Y. Adelakun and Ambassador Janet Olisa.

The Committee also has representatives of Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Auditor-General for the Federation, Accountant General of the Federation, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Foreign Service Advisory Council, Federal Civil Service Commission and National Intelligence Agency.