Presidency Spent ₦34.39 Billion On Forex For International Travel In Two Years - Data Reveals

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.”