Nigeria faces the possibility of a date at the International Court of Justice over £8,395,055 owed to Transport for London over two decades of accruing congestion levy. The country joins superpowers like the United States, China and Russia with their embassies, on a debtors’ list that is lacking grace.

Apparently, there has been resistance by members of the group like the U.S. over an exemption from such a levy but the TfL argues in a notification issued to defaulters that other foreign missions have been paying.

The request by the London transportation authority chaired by city mayor Sadiq Khan, is a legitimate one which came into existence in 2003. This means that past administrations since President Olusegun Obasanjo and down to the incumbent Bola Tinubu have shelved their obligations and that’s not good for the High Commission for the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s world image.

Congestion Charging Embassy Outstanding Debt (From 2003 to 31 Dec 2023) reads the title of a tabularised sheet revealing all the debtors the Transport for London is pursuing.

We and the UK Government are clear that the Congestion Charge is a charge for a service and not a tax. This means that diplomats are not exempt from paying it.

The majority of embassies in London do pay the charge, but there remains a stubborn minority who refuse to do so, despite our representations through diplomatic channels.

We will continue to pursue all unpaid Congestion Charge fees and related penalty charge notices and are pushing for the matter to be taken up at the International Court of Justice.

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While it remains a debt owed, some countries maintain a remarkably low outstanding. One of such has West African origin like the Embassy of the Republic of Togo which TfL says only has a £40 left that it is yet to deliver for payment.

That beats what Nigeria and Ghana, the latter with £5,001,105 of debt, have hanging on their tab. Both neighbours together with 159 other countries, the total amount due to the London transport authorities and which they would like remitted quickly remains £143,527,113.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.