The Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Doris Anite, has vehemently denied allegations circulating on social media that the ministry budgeted over N1 billion for a foreign trip to Geneva next year.
An official statement clarified that there is no specific line item in the proposed budget indicating funds earmarked for a foreign trip to Geneva. The sole mention of ‘Geneva’ in the budget pertains to the maintenance of the Nigerian Trade Office in Geneva, categorized as ‘External Trade Sector, Geneva (WTO).’ The statement emphasized that this reference might have been misconstrued as a ‘Foreign Trip to Geneva.’
Minister Anite clarified that the total allocation for Nigeria’s trade office in Geneva in the 2024 appropriation is N1,610,183,599. She further explained that Nigeria, actively engaged in global trade, maintains an office in Geneva to represent and safeguard the country’s multilateral trade interests in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), both headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
