The Federal Government has proposed over N41bn in the 2026 budget to renovate, furnish and equip 109 Nigerian foreign missions worldwide.

The allocation will cover the rehabilitation of chanceries, ambassadors’ residences and staff quarters. It also provides for the purchase of office furniture and vehicles for Nigeria’s diplomatic missions.

A breakdown of the proposal shows that the Cairo mission will receive N374m, while Cotonou is allocated N380m. Freetown will get N387m, and Port of Spain and New York will each receive N391m. Ouagadougou and Nairobi are earmarked N389m each, Malabo N383m, Athens N386m and Abidjan N388m.

Other major allocations include N436m for Kingston, N384m for Lome, N376m for Beijing and N382m for Bamako. Lusaka will receive N405m, Algiers N513m and Banjul N568m. London is allocated N379m, Johannesburg N387m and Kuwait N385m, among several others.

The proposed N41bn allocation represents a reduction from the N53bn approved for similar upgrades in the 2025 budget.

Since assuming office in May 2023, President Bola Tinubu has undertaken a broad reassessment of Nigeria’s foreign policy. This included the recall of 83 ambassadors in September 2023.

However, the deployment of new envoys has been delayed, largely due to funding constraints. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has cited limited resources for embassy operations and ambassadorial take-off costs as a major challenge.

In December 2025, President Tinubu submitted an expanded list of 64 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate to fill long-vacant diplomatic posts and reposition Nigeria’s foreign missions.

Those confirmed include 34 career ambassadors and high commissioners, as well as 30 non-career appointees.

Speaking at an end-of-year press conference, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the newly appointed ambassadors are expected to assume duty in 2026. He noted that their deployment would strengthen bilateral relations and enhance Nigeria’s global diplomatic engagement.