Presidency’s N37.6bn Travel Bill Raises Fresh Questions
The Presidency spent N37.64 billion on presidential trips and other travel-related expenses between June 2023 and April 2026, according to an analysis of government spending records.
The figures, obtained from GovSpend, an accountability platform that tracks public expenditure, cover spending on presidential trips, foreign-exchange transactions, logistics and the Presidential Air Fleet.
The disclosure comes as President Bola Tinubu leaves Nigeria for a three-week annual vacation in Europe, with London, United Kingdom, as his first known destination.
Tinubu departed Abuja on Sunday, shortly after Vice-President Kashim Shettima returned from a two-week vacation.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the President would return to Nigeria after the working vacation to “join the hectic campaign for the January 2027 elections.”
The Presidency has not released Tinubu’s complete itinerary or disclosed the other European countries he may visit during the holiday.
Available flight records and official travel data analysed by Daily Trust show that Tinubu has undertaken 51 foreign trips since assuming office in May 2023, visiting at least 30 countries and spending about 261 days outside Nigeria.
His latest journey brings the number of foreign trips to 52.
The N37.64 billion expenditure was recorded over three years, with N9.19 billion spent during the second half of 2023, N25.27 billion in 2024, N2.71 billion in 2025 and N477.45 million between January and April 2026.
The highest expenditure came in 2024, when more than N25.26 billion was spent. Much of the spending was linked to foreign-exchange allocations and funding for the Presidential Air Fleet.
In the months after Tinubu assumed office, government records showed several payments for presidential travel.
On June 23, 2023, payments totalling more than N150 million were recorded for “presidential trips and other related expenses.”
The Presidential Air Fleet subsequently received N846.03 million and N674.82 million in foreign-exchange transit funding in July.
In August, records showed several foreign-exchange transactions, including N152.37 million for $200,000, N228.55 million for $300,000 and N146.65 million for $315,300.
Another N250 million was recorded as a direct travel expense, while the Presidential Air Fleet received N2 billion and N713.22 million in forex funding.
By September, four separate transactions of N197.69 million each were processed for $1 million allocations linked to presidential trips.
Payments recorded in November and December included N114.24 million to Hinterland Travel & Tours Limited for flight tickets.
Tinubu’s frequent overseas movements have covered official summits, state visits, bilateral meetings, investment engagements and private or working holidays.
France has been among his most visited destinations, followed by London and the United Arab Emirates.
His foreign travels began in June 2023 with a trip to Paris for the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact.
He subsequently visited Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Niger Republic, India, the UAE, the United States, Germany and Saudi Arabia, among other countries.
In 2024, his itinerary included France, Ethiopia, Qatar, Senegal, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Chad, South Africa, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, China and the United Kingdom.
In 2025, Tinubu travelled to Ghana, the UAE, Tanzania, France, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, Vatican City, Saint Lucia, Brazil and Japan, among other destinations.
He also spent part of the end-of-year period in France before returning to Nigeria in January 2026.
Tinubu began 2026 with further overseas engagements, spending 22 days outside Nigeria in January.
His itinerary included France, the UAE and Türkiye, where he met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and witnessed the signing of nine agreements covering sectors including trade, energy, media and higher education.
In March, he visited the United Kingdom, where a £746 million agreement was signed for the modernisation of the Apapa and Tin Can ports.
He later travelled to France, Kenya and Rwanda in May for a series of international engagements.
First Lady’s $553,884 overseas forex
Separate GovSpend records also show that $553,884 in foreign exchange was released for overseas trips involving First Lady Oluremi Tinubu between 2023 and 2024.
The transactions, involving visits to the United States, Mozambique, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom and France, were valued at N700.71 million using the exchange rates applicable when the purchases were made.
The records provide the destinations, stated travel dates, forex amounts and naira values, but do not show the purposes of the individual trips, the size of the delegations or their total costs.
The first recorded transaction involved a United States trip. State House Operations purchased $94,314, valued at N77.66 million, although the payment was made months after the stated March 2023 trip.
Four further transactions were recorded in 2024. They involved $152,831 for France, $126,834 for Mozambique, $96,118 for Addis Ababa and $83,787 for London.
Together, the 2024 transactions amounted to $459,570 and were valued at N623.05 million.
The combined foreign exchange for the five destinations therefore came to $553,884, equivalent to N700.71 million at the applicable exchange rates.
No similar forex payments for the First Lady’s foreign trips were contained in the records for 2025 and 2026.
Group demands explanation
The disclosure has renewed questions about public spending on activities linked to the First Lady, particularly because the Office of the First Lady is not expressly created by Nigeria’s Constitution.
President and Convener of the Transparency and Accountability Group, Comrade Ayo Ologun, questioned the legal basis for financing official foreign travel involving the First Lady.
Speaking with Daily Trust, Ologun argued that the issue should go beyond determining whether financial procedures were followed.
“Because her office is not recognised by the law, and there is nothing like the office of the wife of the President,” he said.
He argued that public resources must be protected from expenditure that lacks a clear legal foundation.
“They are also supposed to prevent the purse from being depleted. This is simply the depletion of our national commonwealth,” Ologun said.
He added that because the Office of the First Lady is not provided for in the national budget, expenditure associated with it should be subjected to scrutiny.
“The office is not captured in our budget, because the office does not exist,” he said.
Ologun called for an investigation into the source and legal authority for the expenditure.
“Where did that amount of money come from? If it is spent on the wife of the President, that is abuse of power,” he said.
He further urged authorities to investigate the Presidency over the spending and determine whether it complied with the law.
“The office of the President should not only be investigated, but should be tried by the provisions of the law,” he said.
Atiku attacks timing of Tinubu’s vacation
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar also criticised Tinubu’s decision to leave the country for three weeks amid economic hardship and security concerns.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, said in a statement posted on his social media accounts on Sunday that Nigeria was facing a leadership problem.
“Nigeria may not be facing a constitutional vacuum today, but there is a disturbing vacuum of political leadership,” he said.
He listed rising living costs, expensive petrol, food shortages, transport costs and insecurity among the problems confronting Nigerians.
“Millions of Nigerians are being grounded by hardship while their President is airborne,” Atiku said.
He argued that the President’s absence was particularly troubling because Shettima was also outside the country on official duty.
According to Atiku, leadership requires knowing when the country needs the President’s presence.
“Leadership is not merely the constitutional right to occupy an office; it is the judgment to know when your country needs you at home,” he said.
He concluded with a political promise, saying, “Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.”
Presidency defends vacation
The Presidency, however, said Tinubu’s vacation was deserved after months of official engagements.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, said the President would continue receiving updates and attending to important state matters while away.
“The President is proceeding on a well-deserved leave,” Dare told journalists at the airport.
He said the President had spent months dealing with security, economic and other national issues and needed time to “refuel” ahead of the coming campaign season.
“At this point, it’s important that the President also refuels,” Dare said.
He added that governance would continue despite the President’s absence and that Tinubu would receive briefings from ministers, service chiefs and other officials handling key national matters.
The Presidency’s latest travel expenditure has therefore placed the cost of presidential movements under renewed public scrutiny, coming at a time when Nigerians are facing intense economic pressure and the 2027 election campaign is drawing closer.
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