Nigeria to withdraw membership from 90 international organisations

The decision was reached at the council's meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday, September 27, 2017.

The council presided over by the returning President Muhammadu Buhari decided to withdraw the country's participation from organisations whose financial implications outweigh their importance, as it is indebted to different organisations to the tune of over $120million.

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun disclosed the council's decision when she addressed State House correspondents about Wednesday's meeting.

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"Basically, Nigeria is a member of 310 international organisations and a committee was set up to review the rationale of our continued membership of such a large number of our organisations, particularly in the light of the fact that in many cases we are not actually paying our financial obligations and subscriptions which is causing some embarrassment to Nigeria and our image abroad.

"In particular, it was discussed that there are some commitments made to international organisations made by former presidents which were not cash backed.

"So, when our delegations turn up at those organisations, we become very embarrassed. So that was what drove the committee.

"The committee made some recommendations: That out of the 310 organizations, 220 organisations should be retained and the rest we should withdraw membership from.

"But council directed that more work needed to be done, particularly there was a dispute as to the figure of how much is owed.

"The committee had a figure of about $120 million but we are clear from ministry of finance and other ministries that is far more than that. Our subscriptions are in arrears in a number of major organisations.

"So, the directive of the council was that we should go and reconcile those figures and come back to council and have a payment plan for those figures to avoid Nigeria being embarrassed internationally.

"And also circulars needed to be issued on who can commit Nigeria because it was discovered it would be a director or an ambassador who attended the meeting who committed subscription on behalf of Nigeria," the minister said.

Nigeria's influential status means it belongs to international organisations like the African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), United Nations (UN), Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Maritime Organization (IMO), and so on.