Nigerian Embassy In Ankara Moved ₦503 Million Between Budget Lines Without Approval, Federal Review Finds

Secrets Reporters

A Federal Government financial review of the Nigerian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey has found that ₦503,064,423.28 was moved between budget lines without the approval required by law during the 2023 and 2024 financial years.

The review, which covered the mission’s 2023, 2024 financial years, identified ₦540,759,072.75 in irregularities across seven findings. The movement of funds between approved budget categories known as virement  accounted for more than 93 per cent of the total.

According to the review, the embassy shifted funds from one approved budget category to another without the authorization that such movements legally require. The review stated that a variation of this scale at a single overseas mission meant the embassy’s actual spending did not match the budget approved for it by the National Assembly and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The remaining findings included ₦14,491,533.45 flagged for high maintenance costs on vehicles; ₦10,681,818.18 paid as domestic and local staff monthly wages under an irregular arrangement; ₦6,611,530.42 in payments without relevant supporting documents; and ₦5,909,767.42 paid for store items with no evidence of delivery.

Two further findings: contract jobs with no evidence of completion and high staff accommodation costs carried no specific figures but were listed as part of the same pattern.

The review named the Head of Mission serving during the period and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the supervising authority as bearing direct responsibility for the ₦503 million virement proceeding without the approval required by law. It noted that mission leadership changed during the period surrounding the review, and that the exact ambassador who held the post throughout the full 2023–2024 window could not be established with full confidence from public records alone.

Ambassador Ismail Yusuf Abba (also referred to as Ismail Abba Yusuf) served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Nigeria to Türkiye from 2021 to 2024. He presented his letters of credence to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in June 2021 and remained in the post through 2023 and into 2024.

From around early-to-mid 2024, Zayyad Habu Abdussalam (also referred to as Zayyad Abdussalam or Zayyad Abdulsalam) appears in records as Head of Mission / Ambassador / Chargé d’Affaires a.i. at the embassy.

Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria from 21 August 2023 (following his appointment and swearing-in under President Bola Tinubu) through 2024 and beyond.

Earlier in 2023, under the previous administration, Geoffrey Onyeama held the position until May 2023.

The review cited the Appropriation Act and the Financial Regulations 2009, which require formal approval before any virement can lawfully proceed. It stated that this requirement was breached by ₦503.06 million. It also cited requirements for documented justification of vehicle maintenance costs and full supporting documentation for every payment, which it said were breached in the remaining findings.