The Presidency spent at least ₦34.39 billion on foreign exchange transactions to cover international travel and related expenses between 2024 and 2025.

Data obtained by Punch from GovSpend, a public finance tracker operated by BudgIT, showed that the spending was executed through the State House, the Presidential Air Fleet, the Office of the Chief of Staff, and other units linked to the President, Vice President, First Lady, and their aides.

A breakdown of the figures revealed that ₦29.35 billion was spent in 2024, while 2025 saw a sharp drop to ₦5.04 billion, representing an 82.8 percent year-on-year decline.

This drop aligns with broader macroeconomic trends, including a relative stabilisation of the naira following key forex policy reforms and improved dollar inflows.

The bulk of the foreign exchange in 2024 was concentrated in the first half of the year, coinciding with severe exchange rate volatility and pressure on the naira.

Among the top spenders was the Presidential Air Fleet, which made multi-billion-naira forex transactions tagged as “presidential air fleet forex transit funds.” Between March and May 2024 alone, the fleet made repeated purchases of ₦1.27bn on five separate occasions, with larger tranches of ₦5.08bn (April 23) and ₦2.43 bn (May 8) also recorded.

Further payments included ₦205m (July), ₦1.25bn, ₦2.21bn, ₦1.24bn, ₦902.9m (August)

State House Records Billions In Presidential Trip Forex

Forex outflows from the State House Headquarters were also extensive. In February 2024, the office spent over N2.5bn for international trips, including:

₦1.04bn – President’s trip to Ethiopia

₦750m – President’s trip to Dubai

₦426.88m – VP’s trip to Switzerland

₦176.77m – VP’s trip to Côte d’Ivoire

₦149.79m – First Lady’s trip to France

₦86.76m – VP’s trip to Liberia

March brought additional disbursements:

₦202.39m – First Lady’s trip to Mozambique

₦126.30m – Trip to London

₦169.54m – VP’s estacodes for training in the UK and the US

Forex purchases surged in July 2024, with multiple same-day transactions including:

₦739.07m, ₦358.53m, ₦243.32m, among others.

By October 28, a ₦1.36bn forex purchase was recorded, followed by ₦736.20m on December 1.

2025: Presidency Cuts Back On Foreign Travel Spending

The reduction was broad-based and reflected in smaller and less frequent transactions. For example, April 2025 payments included ₦535.82m, ₦57.94m, ₦32.51m, ₦23.67m.

Larger aviation-linked purchases such as ₦1.29bn and ₦626m were more isolated, with August payments as low as ₦7.67m.

The naira ended 2025 at ₦1,429/$1, a 7.4% appreciation from the ₦1,535/$1 recorded at the end of 2024. This marks the first annual gain since 2012, after 13 years of continuous depreciation.

Forex reforms and tighter controls on government spending were credited for the recovery.

Despite the cutbacks in 2025, the Presidential Air Fleet remained a major source of forex demand, with its dollar-denominated expenses for maintenance, fuel, leasing, and operations drawing scrutiny.

Other notable spenders included the Office of the Chief of Staff and the First Lady’s office, with expenses tagged for estacodes, accommodation, logistics, and protocol.

Accountability Calls Grow Louder

The Country Director of Accountability Lab Nigeria, Odeh Friday, expressed concern over the impact of such spending on the country’s strained finances.

“This highlights the urgent need for a shift toward greater equality and accountability in the management of public finances,” Friday said.

He stressed that it is critical to measure the impact and necessity of these expenditures.

“Some of them are clearly wasteful expenditure,” he added.

Peter Obi Slams Tinubu’s Frequent Foreign Trips

Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for spending most of January 2026 abroad.

In a post on his 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) handle, Obi wrote, “While leaders in other nations prioritise domestic governance in January, Nigeria’s president prioritises international engagements over pressing national issues.

“This month, he spent 23 days abroad across two trips, beginning the year overseas and returning on the 17th, and departing again on the 26th to Türkiye, where he remains as of January 31.”

Obi questioned the urgency and value of these trips, “What urgent matters continuously warrant his absence from the nation? When he does return, it often appears to be merely to welcome defectors into the APC before he jets off again.”

Cristiano Ronaldo plans to go on strike and will not feature for Al-Nassr in their upcoming match against Al Riyadh.

According to A Bola, the 40-year-old is upset with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, PIF, because they haven’t signed enough new players.

Since joining the Saudi Pro League in December 2022, Ronaldo has become a big name and a symbol of the league.

However, he’s currently not happy with the lack of player transfers happening at the club.

Ronaldo is also annoyed with PIF, as he believes they are showing favoritism towards their competitors.

It’s also reported that another issue for Ronaldo is that Simao Coutinho, the club’s sporting director, and chief executive officer Jose Semedo, have had their authority reduced after a recent board meeting.

Tensions ran high at Onitsha Main Market in Anambra State on Monday morning after reports emerged that suspected hoodlums had placed a coffin at the entrance of the market’s administrative building, known as the “White House,” on Sunday night.

The incident, believed to be a warning to traders against resuming business as directed by Governor Charles Soludo, has triggered fear and confusion across the commercial hub.

Sources told Vanguard that the coffin appeared mysteriously in front of the market’s administrative block overnight, with no one, including security personnel, able to explain how or when it was placed.

Traders have linked the act to ongoing threats aimed at resisting the government’s directive to reopen the market on Monday, February 2.

Some believe the coffin was a direct warning to the market’s leadership not to obey Soludo’s reopening order.

“This is exactly how the chairman of Mgbuka Amazu Market, Francis Enibe, was kidnapped over two years ago on a Monday. Till now, he’s yet to be found,” a trader said.

Amid the unfolding tension, unconfirmed reports suggest that the Chairman of Onitsha Main Market, Chijioke Okpalaugo, has resigned his position, allegedly citing threats to his life over the reopening order.

While the report could not be independently confirmed, some traders claim the news has been trending on WhatsApp platforms used by market stakeholders.

“He doesn’t want to risk his life by enforcing the reopening. That’s why he allegedly stepped down,” a source within the market disclosed.

As of Monday morning, the usually bustling market area remained deserted, with no vehicular or human activity recorded around the premises.

Many traders, including those who spoke anonymously, said they had instructed their apprentices not to report to the market, citing fears of possible attacks.

“I told my boys not to step out today. I don’t want to be explaining anything to their parents,” a trader said.

Reacting to the situation, another trader, Okechukwu Okafor, insisted that Governor Soludo must personally address traders in Onitsha before the market can safely reopen.

“It’s not just about sitting in Awka, surrounded by soldiers and police, and giving orders.

“He should come down here, like he did last week when he came to shut down the market. He should come and do the official reopening too, so people can feel safe to return,” Okafor said.

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has scheduled ten additional days to conclude the trial in the corruption case brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, over the naira redesign.

Justice Maryann Anenih fixed the ten days on Wednesday following a consensus between counsel to the EFCC, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, and counsel to Emefiele, Mr Olalekan Ojo, SAN.

The scheduled dates are February 3 and 10; April 1 and 2; May 11, 12, 13, and 14; as well as June 9 and 10, during which the trial, which commenced in 2024, is expected to be concluded.

Justice Anenih charged lawyers on both sides to keep faith with the appointed dates, assuring them that the court would accommodate them appropriately during the period.

At Wednesday’s proceedings, a witness of the anti-graft agency, Mr Emere Chinedu, an operative of the EFCC, admitted that the Presidency, under President Muhammadu Buhari, in a letter to the EFCC, granted approval to Emefiele to redesign the naira notes.

He, however, said that the Presidency’s letter to the EFCC, in response to an inquiry, stated that the printing of the new notes should be done locally, as against the printing done outside Nigeria by the former CBN governor.

Chinedu, who headed the inter-agency probe panel that investigated the former CBN boss, said that Emefiele, in the course of appearing before the panel, made six separate extrajudicial statements to present his defence.

According to him, the statements were made on October 26, 27, 30, and 31, as well as November 1 and 2, 2023.

“In the course of our job, we extended our investigation to the State House for records of approval for the naira redesign. The response of the State House was communicated to the EFCC in writing.

“The State House gave approval for the naira redesign, but with a proviso that it must be done locally,” the witness said.

The EFCC witness, who was cross-examined by Emefiele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, declined to answer claims by Emefiele in one of his statements that Abdulrasheed Bawa, a former Executive Chairman of the EFCC, was the first person to suggest the naira redesign to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Rather, the witness said that the EFCC has no power to propose a change in the colour of the naira, adding that anything done in that regard must be advisory.

On a series of video clips from various television stations across the country, in which Nigerians complained of hardship and which were tendered by the EFCC, he admitted that the videos had existed before his probe panel was set up by the Federal Government.

According to him, the videos of news and programmes from the television stations were downloaded from the internet by his probe panel and tendered to show the injuries Nigerians suffered during the naira redesign.

He claimed not to know any staff of the television stations who prepared the contents of the videos and said he did not interview any person from any of the television stations.

Emefiele is being prosecuted by the EFCC in the charge marked FTC/HC/CR/264/2024 and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Meanwhile, further cross-examination of the witness by Emefiele’s counsel has been adjourned to February 3 by Justice Maryann Anenih.

The Nigeria Police Force has uncovered a large-scale cyber-enabled fraud involving the illegal diversion of a telecommunications company’s airtime and data resources, with losses estimated at more than ₦7.7 billion.

The Force, through the National Cybercrime Centre, said six suspects were arrested in connection with the scheme, while several high-value assets believed to be proceeds of the crime were recovered.

According to the Police, the investigation began after a Nigerian telecommunications company petitioned authorities over “suspicious and unauthorised activities” detected within its billing and payment systems.

Investigators discovered that the fraudsters gained access to the company’s core infrastructure after compromising internal staff login credentials, allowing them to manipulate airtime and data resources on a massive scale.

Following weeks of surveillance and intelligence-led operations, coordinated arrests were carried out in Kano and Katsina states in October 2025, with a follow-up arrest in the Federal Capital Territory.

The suspects arrested were identified as Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’ad.

Police said items recovered during the operation included two residential houses in Kano, two mini-plazas, GSM and laptop retail outlets stocked with over 400 laptops and 1,000 mobile phones, as well as a Toyota RAV4 vehicle. Substantial sums of money traced to the suspects’ bank accounts were also recovered.

“The syndicate was responsible for the illegal diversion of a telecommunications company’s airtime and data resources, resulting in an estimated financial loss of over N7.7 billion,” the Force said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Police added that the suspects would be charged in court upon the conclusion of investigations.

Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, commended the officers involved for what he described as professionalism and diligence.

“The Nigeria Police Force remains unwavering in its resolve to safeguard Nigeria’s digital and financial ecosystems, dismantle cybercriminal networks, and ensure that offenders are held accountable regardless of their position or affiliation,” the IGP said.

The statement was signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.