Nigeria’s Presidency Spent US$28 Million on Trips in Three Years
NIGERIA · PUBLIC FINANCE
Key Facts
—The bill: Nigeria’s presidency spent N37.64 billion (about US$28.1 million) on presidential trips, logistics and foreign exchange between June 2023 and April 2026, according to a Daily Trust analysis of records from GovSpend, a public-expenditure tracker.
—The peak year: 2024 accounted for N25.27 billion (about US$18.9 million) of the total, driven by foreign-exchange purchases and funding for the Presidential Air Fleet.
—The miles: President Bola Tinubu has made 52 foreign trips to about 30 countries and spent roughly 261 days abroad since taking office on 29 May 2023, including the three-week European leave he began on Sunday, with London as his first stop.
—The First Lady: Separate records show US$553,884 in foreign exchange was released for trips by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, valued at about N700.7 million (about US$523,000) at the rates applied when the money was bought.
—The attack: Opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar: “Nigeria is burning, and the President has chosen a boarding pass over the fire extinguisher.”
Nigeria’s presidency spent N37.64 billion (about US$28.1 million) on travel in under three years, expenditure records show, just as President Bola Tinubu flew out for a three-week European vacation. The figures, and the timing, have handed the opposition an early theme for the 2027 election campaign. All dollar conversions in this report are at roughly 1,340 naira to the dollar, the official market rate at the end of August 2026.
What the records show
Daily Trust analysed payment records from GovSpend, an accountability platform run by the civic group BudgIT that tracks Nigerian government spending. The records cover presidential trips, associated logistics, foreign-exchange transactions and other travel costs from June 2023 to April 2026, and total N37,639,227,853.51 (about US$28.1 million).
The breakdown shows N9.19 billion (about US$6.9 million) spent in the second half of 2023, N25.27 billion (about US$18.9 million) in 2024, N2.71 billion (about US$2.0 million) in 2025 and N477 million (about US$356,000) in the first four months of 2026.
Spending began days after Tinubu took office, with payments in late June 2023 for “presidential trips and other related expenses”. The Presidential Air Fleet, the government squadron that flies the president, received repeated foreign-exchange top-ups, including four transactions in September 2023 each linked to US$1 million allocations for presidential trips. The 2024 peak coincided with a period when the naira was at its weakest, making every dollar bought for travel far more expensive.
Fifty-two trips, 261 days abroad
The travel tally, compiled from official schedules and flight data, counts 51 completed foreign trips to at least 30 countries and about 261 days outside Nigeria since 29 May 2023. France has been the most frequent destination, followed by Britain and the United Arab Emirates. The current European leave is trip number 52.
Tinubu left Abuja on Sunday, 30 August, for a three-week vacation in Europe, beginning in London. The presidency did not publish his full itinerary. Spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the president would return to “join the hectic campaign for the January 2027 elections”. Another aide, Sunday Dare, told reporters at the airport the leave was well deserved: with four to five months of campaigning ahead, “it’s important that the President also refuels”, he said, adding that Tinubu would receive daily briefings from ministers and security chiefs while away.
The First Lady’s travel funds
The same GovSpend records show the State House bought US$553,884 in foreign exchange for five overseas trips by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu between 2023 and 2024, covering the United States, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Britain and France. The naira cost of those purchases came to about N700.7 million (about US$523,000 at today’s rate) at the exchange rates applied at the time.
The records do not show the purpose or duration of the trips, the size of the delegations, or any costs beyond the foreign exchange itself. No comparable payments appear for 2025 or 2026.
The disclosure drew fire because the Office of the First Lady has no legal basis and no budget line. “The office is not captured in our budget, because the office does not exist,” said Ayo Ologun of the Transparency and Accountability Group, arguing that any public money spent on it should be investigated.
The politics of an empty seat
Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president running against Tinubu for the African Democratic Congress in 2027, attacked the timing of the vacation. “It is not that a President must never rest or travel,” he wrote. “It is that Nigeria is burning, and the President has chosen a boarding pass over the fire extinguisher.” He noted that Vice President Kashim Shettima is simultaneously abroad on official duty at an African Union session in Luanda, Angola.
The presidency counters that the trips deliver results, pointing to investment pledges and deals such as the 746-million-pound (about US$1 billion) agreement signed during a March 2026 state visit to Britain to modernise the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos. Presidential aides did not respond to requests for comment on the spending figures, Daily Trust reported.
What is still unverified
The N37.64 billion (about US$28.1 million) total comes from one newsroom’s analysis of GovSpend data and had not been replicated by a second outlet at the time of writing, though earlier GovSpend-based reporting by The Punch on presidential travel and air-fleet spending points in the same direction. The records do not capture every cost of a presidential trip — security, some logistics and spending by other ministries may sit elsewhere. The presidency had not publicly responded to the figures.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Nigeria’s presidency spend on travel?
N37.64 billion (about US$28.1 million) between June 2023 and April 2026, according to a Daily Trust analysis of GovSpend payment records. The figure covers presidential trips, logistics and foreign exchange, with 2024 the most expensive year.
Where did President Tinubu go on 30 August 2026?
He flew from Abuja to London to start a three-week vacation in Europe. The presidency says he will return to join campaigning for the January 2027 elections and will keep receiving official briefings while abroad.
How many foreign trips has Tinubu made?
Fifty-two since taking office on 29 May 2023, including the current trip, visiting about 30 countries and spending roughly 261 days abroad. France has been his most frequent destination.
What was spent on the First Lady’s trips?
Records show US$553,884 in foreign exchange bought for five trips by Oluremi Tinubu in 2023-2024, costing about N700.7 million (about US$523,000) in naira at the time. Critics note the Office of the First Lady has no legal status or budget line.
Sources
Daily Trust (Abuja), “Presidency spends N37.6bn on trips” (about US$28 million), 31 August 2026, based on GovSpend payment records; Vanguard and Channels Television (Lagos), reporting on Atiku Abubakar’s statement and the president’s departure, 30-31 August 2026. Exchange-rate basis: official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market rate of roughly 1,340 naira to the dollar, Central Bank of Nigeria data, end of August 2026.
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This story belongs to our running series on the contest for the continent, Africa: The New Scramble, and to our coverage of Western Africa.
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