Nigeria could see a reduction in its foreign missions after President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday ordered a review of the country's diplomatic postings overseas.
A presidential committee will look at "the number of essential missions Nigeria needs to maintain abroad so that appropriate standards and quality can be maintained", a statement from his office said.
Buhari, 72, took over as head of Africa's biggest economy and most populous nation in May and is keen to tighten government spending to reduce a yawning deficit caused by a slump in global oil prices.
He said the need for some of the missions was "questionable" and asked whether keeping embassies and consulates "with dilapidated facilities and demoralised staff" was wise.
No specific missions were mentioned.
"Let's keep only what we can manage. We can't afford much for now. There's no point in pretending," he said after meeting senior foreign ministry officials in the capital, Abuja.
Buhari has built a reputation as a no-nonsense campaigner against corruption and has sought to crack down on excesses that have built up over the years in government and state-run companies.
In June, the president vowed to "restore sanity to the system" after claiming the previous administration had left the treasury "virtually empty" through graft and mismanagement.
He also said on Tuesday action would be taken against former government ministers and others using diplomatic and official passports illegally.
"Something has to be done so that we can get back our respectability as a country," he said.
"Some people carry official passports and get involved in all sorts of negative acts. We need to do something about it."
AFP
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Video - Nigeria electricity supply improves after reforms
In Nigeria, power distribution has improved in recent months. The government hopes reforms in the sector and efforts to improve infrastructure, increase public and private partnerships and foreign direct investment will eventually boost the available generation capacity, and make transmission and distribution, more efficient.
Video - Gbenga Sesan: Connecting million of Nigerians
As a school student Gbenga Sesan was denied access to the computer room at his Nigerian school and told he was not clever enough to operate one.Years later, Gbenga is an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) expert, who has won international awards and is running a successful consultancy business."I'm the kind of guy you don't tell not to do something, I will do it. If you tell me it's impossible, I'll take it as a challenge....I think the first thing that hit me was: 'Do I want to raise a child in Nigeria?' There were things that I didn't have access to myself because I was raised here, but I think it makes me double my effort because I want to raise my child in a country that works," he says.The social entrepreneur is spreading his good fortune by teaching ICT and life skills to young adults in Nigeria's poorest neighbourhoods.Gbenga was appointed Nigeria's first IT Youth Ambassador in 2001.With up to 56 percent of youth in Nigeria being unemployed, he is determined to "training young people, connecting them with opportunities, through technologies.
Monday, September 7, 2015
Video - Assessing President Muhamadu Buhari first 100 days in office
This weekend Nigerian President Muhamadu Buhari marks 100 days in office. When he defeated Goodluck Jonathan back in March, he promised to deal swiftly with Boko Haram, tackle corruption and improve the country's economy. So has he lived up to his promises?
Friday, September 4, 2015
President Muhammadu Buhari declares assets in act of transperency
Nigeria's leader Muhammadu Buhari has declared he has $150,000 (£100,000) in his personal account, in a move aimed at promoting transparency.
The amount showed the ex-military ruler and minister of petroleum had been living a "Spartan lifestyle", his spokesman Garba Shehu said.
The BBC's Will Ross says the assets are loose change for Nigerian politicians but a fortune for most of the country.
Mr Buhari is the first opposition candidate to win a national election.
The former military ruler was elected in March largely on a promise to tackle corruption and insecurity.
Corruption is a major problem in Africa's biggest economy and last month, Mr Buhari said that $150bn (£100bn) was missing from state coffers.
Buhari's assets:
Five homes and two mud houses, as well as farms
An orchard and a ranch with 270 head of cattle,
25 sheep, five horses and a variety of birds
Shares in three firms
Two undeveloped plots of lands
Bought two cars from his savings
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, a successful lawyer and pastor at one of Nigeria's biggest churches, is considerably wealthier.
Mr Shehu said in a statement Mr Osinbajo had $1.4m (£900,000) in his bank accounts.
In his declaration of assets, Mr Osinbajo also revealed that he owned a four-bedroom residence, a three-bedroom flat, a two-bedroom flat and a two-bedroom mortgaged property in Bedford, UK.
His political career started when he was appointed commissioner of justice in Lagos state in 2007 - a position he held for eight years.
The statement did not give the value of all the assets held by the president and the vice-president, saying the documents submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau would be made public as soon as the verification process was completed.
The leaders are also required by law to declare their assets when they left office.
Late President Umaru Yar'Adua was the first Nigerian leader to declare his assets publicly.
He was reported to be worth $5m (£3.5m) when the declaration was made in 2007.
BBC
The amount showed the ex-military ruler and minister of petroleum had been living a "Spartan lifestyle", his spokesman Garba Shehu said.
The BBC's Will Ross says the assets are loose change for Nigerian politicians but a fortune for most of the country.
Mr Buhari is the first opposition candidate to win a national election.
The former military ruler was elected in March largely on a promise to tackle corruption and insecurity.
Corruption is a major problem in Africa's biggest economy and last month, Mr Buhari said that $150bn (£100bn) was missing from state coffers.
Buhari's assets:
Five homes and two mud houses, as well as farms
An orchard and a ranch with 270 head of cattle,
25 sheep, five horses and a variety of birds
Shares in three firms
Two undeveloped plots of lands
Bought two cars from his savings
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, a successful lawyer and pastor at one of Nigeria's biggest churches, is considerably wealthier.
Mr Shehu said in a statement Mr Osinbajo had $1.4m (£900,000) in his bank accounts.
In his declaration of assets, Mr Osinbajo also revealed that he owned a four-bedroom residence, a three-bedroom flat, a two-bedroom flat and a two-bedroom mortgaged property in Bedford, UK.
His political career started when he was appointed commissioner of justice in Lagos state in 2007 - a position he held for eight years.
The statement did not give the value of all the assets held by the president and the vice-president, saying the documents submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau would be made public as soon as the verification process was completed.
The leaders are also required by law to declare their assets when they left office.
Late President Umaru Yar'Adua was the first Nigerian leader to declare his assets publicly.
He was reported to be worth $5m (£3.5m) when the declaration was made in 2007.
BBC
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