Tuesday, September 1, 2026 - The Presidency spent ₦37.64 billion on presidential trips, logistics, foreign exchange, and travel-related expenses between June 2023 and April 2026, according to an analysis of GovSpend, a public expenditure monitoring platform developed by BudgIT.
The disclosures coincided with President Bola Tinubu's
departure from Abuja for Europe on a three-week annual vacation, with London as
his initial stop.
Official travel records show that President Tinubu has spent
approximately 261 days outside the country across 51 foreign trips, visiting at
least 30 nations since assuming office on May 29, 2023.
The breakdown of travel-related spending reveals that the
Presidency incurred ₦9.18 billion in the second half of 2023, ₦25.26 billion in
2024, ₦2.7 billion in 2025, and ₦477.4 million between January and April 2026.
Expenditures peaked in 2024, primarily driven by foreign
exchange allocations and operational funding for the Presidential Air Fleet.
Additionally, the records show that $553,884 in foreign
exchange, valued at ₦700.7 million at applicable rates, was released for
overseas travels involving First Lady Oluremi Tinubu between 2023 and 2024.
Reacting to the findings, Transparency and Accountability
Group President Ayo Ologun questioned the legal justification for funding
official foreign travels for the First Lady.
"Because
her office is not recognised by the law, if it is established that public money
was spent on supposed official travels, the question should be: what is the
duty?" Ologun said. "If it is spent on the wife of the President,
that is abuse of power"
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