Ministerial nominee Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, on Wednesday, shared her harrowing experience as Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain during her Senate screening.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had last week nominated her as the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu revealed that she lived in a hotel for a year due to the dilapidated state of the Nigerian embassy in Madrid.
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“I would like to say that my past records speak for me. As an ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain, I spent an entire year in one hotel room because when I got to Spain, the mission building was in such an appalling condition,” she said.
The embassy’s location, close to the upscale estate of Galagao, according to her, made its ruin particularly embarrassing.
“It was disheartening that this decadent structure represented Nigeria in such a prestigious area,” Odumegwu-Ojukwu stated.
Determined to restore Nigeria’s image, Odumegwu-Ojukwu led an extensive refurbishment project, overhauling the mission building, ambassador’s residence, and other Nigerian-owned properties in Spain.
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“The Nigerian embassy in Madrid that you see today is the product of my time in that country,” she said.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu further highlighted the challenges Nigerian embassies face worldwide due to limited funding, which constrains ambassadors from performing much-needed maintenance.
“In most missions, because of no more funding, most ambassadors are constrained when it comes to carrying out refurbishments,” she added.
She emphasized the importance of respectable diplomatic representations, urging the Nigerian government to prioritize embassy maintenance.
“This is something that the government, under this President, should look into,” Odumegwu-Ojukwu said.
After her heartfelt plea for urgent intervention, Odumegwu-Ojukwu was asked to take a bow and go. She is one of seven ministerial nominees being screened by the Red Chamber.
