Nigeria’s international image suffered a setback in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday morning when the Swiss police threw out a Nigerian family, Mr and Mrs Egbide and four children after locking up their apartment over rent indebtedness.

The reason for the rent indebtedness, according to Mrs Josephine Egbide, was due to over two years salary being owed the Nigerian diplomat by the Labour Ministry.

Mrs. Egbide and other officers of the international desk of the Ministry of Labour attached to the International Labour Organisation head office in Geneva , Switzerland are being owed salaries of over two years.

Before the  ejection, electricity supply to the residence of the Egbides was cut off while they were also cut off from the national insurance scheme. Contacts made with the presidency failed to yield any result.

In June last year, the Ministry of Labour sent a team of auditors to Geneva to audit the account of the mission office but found nothing incriminating.   It was after this that approval was given for the payment of six months salary to the three officers.

However, a source in Geneva said that not only was the money grossly inadequate to settle outstanding bills.   Since then, no other money had been remitted for the payment of the officers’ salary.

In March, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour’s, led other officials to Geneva for the ILO governing body meeting . In Geneva, he was briefed of the situation but no money had been remitted since he returned to Nigeria.

Head of the mission office, Mr Peter Ajuzie could not be contacted yesterday as he was said to be in Cameroon  for the African Regional  Labour Meeting, AALAC,.   The meeting is also being attended by officials of the Labour Ministry.

According to the source, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ILO office had called upon the Ministry of Labour several times to pay its staff but all to no avail.

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