Industry ministry denies budgeting N1bn for foreign trip to Geneva

The Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment has refuted media reports that it has budgeted N1 billion for a foreign trip to Geneva in 2024.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, the office of the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment said that the media reports were “an extreme misrepresentation of the facts”.

The press release which was signed by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment Toluwase Moyan,  explained that there was no line item in the proposed budget of the ministry referring to any “Foreign Trip to Geneva”. Rather, the only mention of “Geneva” in the proposed budget was with respect to the maintenance of the Nigerian Trade Office in Geneva, which is responsible for representing and defending Nigeria’s multilateral trade interests in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

He said, “In fact, the total amount (for NIGERIA’S TRADE OFFICE IN GENEVA) in the appropriation for 2024 is N1,610,183,599 with the breakdown as follows:
1. Personnel Cost: N805, 379, 820
2. Overhead: N204, 058, 434
3. Capital: N600, 745, 345

“For clarification, Nigeria, as an active player in global trade maintains an office in Geneva responsible for representing and defending Nigeria’s multilateral trade interests in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), both headquartered in Geneva Switzerland.

“Expectedly, the Nigerian Trade Office, Geneva has obligations, overhead and maintenance costs as with any organisation, that must be met. In fact, the current debt owed by the Nigeria Trade Office in Geneva as captured in the budget is N499,000,000.00, and it was deemed necessary to propose a budget that will service  Nigeria’s outstanding debts in Geneva and maintain Nigeria’s respect and global standing amongst the comity of nations.”

He assured the public that the ministry was committed to prudence, transparency and accountability.