The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has revealed that the ministry he heads does not have any direct communication link with Nigerian embassies in countries across the world.
Onyeama revealed this as he appeared before the house of representatives committee on foreign affairs on Thursday October 17, to defend the ministry’s proposed budget for 2020.
Also describing the ministry’s lack of funding as a perennial problem for the ministry and the missions, the Minister added that lack of 21st century technologies affects its operations and also leads to exposure of sensitive information.
He said: “A foreign ministry really has to function in a global community of the 21st Century and this requires certain architecture, especially Information and Communication Technology.
“When you are operating a hundred offices around the world, communication becomes absolutely key – real time communication – when you are also dealing with sensitive information, the capacity to also maintain that confidentiality.
“In the ministry, we don’t have direct linkage with our embassies around the world and even the most basic technology that will provide that is not even there. Even if we look at just within the ministry, the intranet system for communication has also become a real challenge.”
