As Nigeria struggles with soaring inflation and widespread economic hardship, President Bola Tinubu has spent more than N2.3 billion on foreign trips and related expenses over six months. This spending, recorded between February and July 2024, has sparked widespread criticism, particularly as the nation faces severe economic challenges that have left many struggling to make ends meet.
According to data from GovSpend, affiliated with BudgIT, a platform that monitors government spending, President Tinubu’s travel expenses during this period have raised eyebrows across the country. The data reveals that from February 21 to July 19, 2024, the President allocated significant sums for these trips, even as Nigerians endured the highest inflation rates seen in recent years.
The expenditure records show that on February 21, 2024, the State House in Abuja paid N300 million for the President’s trips and related expenses for January 2024. Three days later, on February 24, another payment of N250 million was made for similar purposes. The spending continued into March, with N42,379,100 paid on March 15 for travel-related expenses, followed by N9,484,310, N25,393,490, and N34,185,400, all disbursed on the same day.
The list of payments goes on, detailing amounts such as N5,602,600, N106,422,600, N5,505,100, N5,001,700, N65,474,000, and another N300 million. These figures are all connected to the President’s foreign trips during the first half of the year.
The data also highlights that between February 24 and March 15, the federal government spent over N2.9 billion on purchasing foreign currency for President Tinubu, his wife, and Vice President Kashim Shettima. This expenditure was linked to their trips to countries such as Ethiopia, Switzerland, Liberia, France, and Côte d’Ivoire, among other destinations.
One particularly significant expense occurred on February 24, when N750 million was used to buy $1,271,997 for President Tinubu’s trip to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This expenditure, in particular, has drawn sharp criticism, as many Nigerians question the necessity and timing of such lavish spending.
These revelations come at a time when Nigeria is facing a severe cost-of-living crisis. Inflation, which had been on an upward trajectory for 19 months, finally slowed slightly in July 2024, dropping to 33.4% from 34.19% in June. However, this decrease was primarily due to a high base effect rather than any significant improvement in the economic situation. The Central Bank of Nigeria has been under pressure to address the stubbornly high inflation, leading the Monetary Policy Committee to raise the interest rate by 800 basis points to 26.75% this year.
Despite these economic challenges, President Tinubu has continued to travel extensively, with his most recent trip to France sparking further controversy. On August 19, he departed for a “work stay” in France, traveling on a newly acquired private jet, an Airbus A330 business jet, which has since been registered to the Nigerian Air Force. The aircraft, typically used as a twin-aisle passenger jet, was purchased for $100 million in July 2024, according to reports from Premium Times. The plane had been advertised on Aircraft24, a platform for buying and selling aircraft, before its acquisition by the Nigerian government.
The timing of this purchase and the President’s continued foreign travel have not gone unnoticed by the public. Many Nigerians have taken to social media and other platforms to express their frustration with what they perceive as a disconnect between the government’s actions and the realities faced by ordinary citizens.
