Total Cost of President Tinubu’s Overseas Travels in Under Three Years Surfaces Online

• Nigeria's Presidency spent N37.64 billion on travel-related expenses between June 2023 and April 2026, according to accountability platform GovSpend
• President Bola Tinubu has taken 52 foreign trips and spent about 261 days outside Nigeria since taking office in May 2023
• First Lady Oluremi Tinubu's overseas travel cost N700.71 million, prompting calls for accountability over the legal basis of the spending

Nigeria's Presidency has spent N37.64 billion on travel-related costs since President Bola Tinubu assumed office, according to figures published by GovSpend, a Nigerian public expenditure monitoring platform.

The records, covering the period from June 2023 to April 2026, reveal a steep rise in spending during 2024, when outlays reached N25.27 billion, the highest single-year figure in the period.

The Presidency, according to reports from Legit.ng on August 31, 2026, spent N9.19 billion on travel in the second half of 2023, N2.71 billion throughout 2025, and N477.45 million between January and April 2026.

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The figures encompass presidential trips, logistics, foreign-exchange transactions, and costs associated with the Presidential Air Fleet.

In 2023 alone, payments processed on June 23 totalled more than N150 million for "presidential trips and other related expenses," while the Presidential Air Fleet received N2 billion and N713.22 million in separate foreign-exchange disbursements during August of that year.

Tinubu clocks 52 overseas trips under three-years

Since being sworn in on 29 May 2023, Tinubu has completed 51 foreign trips, visited at least 30 countries, and spent approximately 261 days abroad.

France ranks as his most visited destination, with the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates following closely. His travel itinerary has included state visits, international summits, bilateral talks, and working vacations.

The 52nd trip, a three-week holiday to Europe that began on Sunday, 30 August, with London as the opening leg, is currently underway.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga confirmed Tinubu is expected back in Nigeria in time to participate in campaigning ahead of the January 2027 elections, though the Presidency declined to release a full European itinerary.

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Special Adviser Sunday Dare, speaking to journalists at the airport before departure, described the trip as a well-deserved rest that would allow the President to "refuel" before an intense campaign season.

First Lady's travel bill and accountability questions

Separate foreign-exchange records from GovSpend show that $553,884 was disbursed for overseas travel by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu between 2023 and 2024, covering visits to the United States, Mozambique, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, and France.

At the exchange rates in effect at the time of purchase, that sum translated to N700.71 million in naira.

Transparency and Accountability Group president Ayo Ologun questioned the legal foundation for those expenditures, pointing out that the Office of the First Lady has no statutory recognition under Nigerian law.

"Because her office is not recognised by the law, and there is nothing like the office of the wife of the President... if it is established that public money was spent on supposed official travels, the question should be: what is the duty?" he said, calling for a thorough investigation.

Former Vice President and presidential aspirant Atiku Abubakar also weighed in on the timing of Tinubu's European holiday.

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"Nigeria is burning, and the President has chosen a boarding pass over the fire extinguisher," he wrote on his social media accounts on Sunday, 30 August.

US marks 6 Nigerian states as dangerous

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) updated its travel guidance for Nigeria, placing six states under a full travel ban and extending cautionary warnings across dozens of additional regions.

The revised advisory, published on Thursday, identifies Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, and Gombe in the north-east, alongside Katsina and Zamfara in the north-west, as areas British nationals must avoid entirely.

Beyond the six fully restricted states, the FCDO introduced a broader secondary category covering territories where travel is discouraged unless necessary.

Source: YEN.com.gh