President Bola Tinubu’s government has used a significant N2.3 billion on overseas trips and associated costs in just six months.
This information, obtained from the GovSpend analytics platform by BudgIT Foundation, shows the high expenses linked to the President’s travels from February 21 to July 19, 2024.
In this timeframe, the State House Headquarters in Abuja made payments for presidential journeys, starting with N300 million on February 21, 2024, to cover expenses from January.
After the initial payment of N300 million on February 21, there were more payments, including N250 million on February 24 and a series of transactions on March 15, totaling hundreds of millions of naira.
These expenses encompass various costs linked to official foreign trips undertaken by government officials.
Furthermore, between February 24 and March 15, 2024, the government spent over N2.9 billion on acquiring foreign currency to support trips by President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and First Lady Remi Tinubu.
The trips encompassed visits to Dubai, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Liberia, France, and Côte d’Ivoire, with significant amounts allocated for acquiring US dollars for these travels.
For instance, N750 million was used to buy $1.27 million for President Tinubu’s Dubai trip, while N1.04 billion was set aside to obtain $692,265 for his Ethiopia visit.
The Vice President and First Lady also had expenses for their trips, including N426.88 million for a Switzerland visit and N149.79 million for the First Lady’s trip to France.
These expenses have faced strong criticisms, especially given the challenging economic conditions in Nigeria.
President Tinubu recently urged Nigerians to persevere through the hardships resulting from his economic measures, which have worsened inflation and contributed to widespread hunger.
