Reps investigate foreign Missions over corruption

The House of Representatives Tuesday mandated it’s the Committees on Foreign Relations and Public Procurement to investigate allegations of corruption in the Nigerian Missions abroad.

The investigation also spans “the measures to be devised to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians in the diaspora.”

The Green Chamber also urged “the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that Nigerian Missions abroad provide counseling and support to Nigerians in time of need and to operate a twenty-four (24) hours helpline and desk for Nigerians in the diaspora.”

The joint committee is to report back to the House within six (6) weeks for further legislative action.

The resolution of the House was sequel to the passage of a motion by two lawmakers, Rita Orji and Sergius Ose Ogun on the “Need to Investigate the Activities and the Procurement Process of Nigerian Embassies/High Commissions to cut Costs and Fight Corruption.”

The lawmakers while moving the motion said: ” Nigeria’s High Commissions and Embassies are administratively under the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as such have their individual budgets computed under the Ministry;

“All sums spent by the foreign missions are meant to be subjected by parliamentary oversight in the light of the fact that the spendings are provided for under the Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly;

“Informed of the widely reported news by a number of online news media that sums running into thousands of Pounds have been spent by the Nigerian High Commission in London on activities as mundane as hiring a scaffold, clearing drainages and manholes.

“Also notes the allegations by Nigerians in the diaspora of acts of insensitivity, laxity, negligence and near outright maltreatment by consular staff of Nigerian Embassies/High Commissions across the world which inflict mental torture on them;

“The manifestations of these acts in the bureaucratic bottlenecks in the renewal of expired passports, extortion of money from those seeking assistance or redress and outright insensitivity to the plight of those in dire need which had resulted in the abandonment in a mental home in Turin Italy of one Julie Osamese whose kidney was stolen and the death of Nwadike Stephen Chukwuemeka in a deportation camp in Malaysia, etc.”

The lawmakers expressed concern about the need to investigate the activities of the High Commission and Embassies “including those payments were approved and disbursed and the procurement processes being employed by the Embassies and High Commissions, the Nation will continually be bled the sincerity of the government’s war against corruption will be called to question.”

However, the Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Hon. Nnena Elendu-Ukeje through an amendment sought the removal of committees of Diaspora and Interior from the investigations.

According to her, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in charge of embassies/ missions and the ministry is in turn under the supervision of the House committee on Foreign Relations, hence it would only be appropriate if the Foreign Relations Committee and Public Procurement conduct the investigation.

Members supported the amendment and the committees of Diaspora and Interior were removed from the mandate.