How Tinubu spent N2.3bn on foreign trips amid hardship

The Federal Government, under the dispensation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has spent N2.3 billion on foreign trips and related expenses within six months, according to data from GovSpend, a portal documenting the Presidential Villa expenditure.

This highlights the costs associated with presidential travel between February 21 and July 19, this year.

The State House Headquarters in Abuja, during the period, recorded payments for presidential trips, beginning with N300 million on February 21, 2024, for January’s expenses.

“On February 24, the State House also made a N250 million payment for Presidential trips and related expenses. And on March 15, N42,379,100 was paid for Presidential trips and related expenses.

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“On March 15, N9,484,310 was paid for Presidential trips and related expenses. On the same date, N25,393,490 and N34,185,400 were paid for the same purpose,” the data revealed.

In addition, the government spent over N2.9 billion between February 24 and March 15, 2024, on purchasing foreign exchange to fund trips by President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and First Lady Remi Tinubu.

The trips included visits to Dubai, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Liberia, France, and Côte d’Ivoire, with substantial sums used to acquire US dollars for these journeys.

For instance,  On February 24, N750 million was used to buy $1,271,997 for the President’s trip to Dubai , while N1.04 billion was allocated to secure $692,265 for his visit to Ethiopia.

The Vice President and First Lady also incurred costs for their trips, including N426.88 million for a visit to Switzerland and N149.79 million for the First Lady’s trip to France.

The expenditures have drawn sharp criticism, especially as they coincide with severe economic hardship in Nigeria.

Earlier in the month, Nigerians had staged a 10-day nationwide protest, calling for an end to bad governance.

The untoward hardship was birthed by some policies of the President Tinubu-led administration, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy which was announced on May 29, 2023.

President Tinubu recently urged Nigerians to endure the difficulties of economic reforms, stating that the steps are required to put the country on solid economic footing.