President Bola Tinubu’s frequent travels have come under fresh scrutiny, with government records showing that the Presidency spent a staggering N37.64 billion on domestic and foreign travel-related expenses in less than three years.
An analysis of expenditure records by GovSpend, a public accountability platform that tracks government spending, showed that the money was spent between June 2023 and April 2026 on presidential trips, logistics, foreign exchange transactions and other travel-related expenses.
The latest figures emerged as Tinubu embarked on another foreign trip, leaving Abuja on Sunday for a three-week annual vacation in Europe.
The President’s first destination is London, United Kingdom, although the Presidency has yet to disclose his complete itinerary or the other European countries he may visit.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu would use the break as a working vacation and return to Nigeria to join preparations for the January 2027 elections.
His latest trip came shortly after Vice-President Kashim Shettima returned from a two-week vacation.
N37.64bn and counting
According to the GovSpend records, the Presidency spent exactly N37,639,227,853.51 on presidential trips and related expenses between June 2023 and April 2026.
The spending pattern showed:
- June–December 2023: N9.18bn
- 2024: N25.26bn
- 2025: N2.70bn
- January–April 2026: N477.45m
The biggest spending year was 2024, when more than N25.26bn was released.
A substantial portion of the spending was linked to foreign-exchange transactions and the Presidential Air Fleet.
Barely weeks after Tinubu assumed office in 2023, millions of naira began flowing out for presidential travel.
On June 23, 2023, several payments totalling more than N150 million were recorded for presidential trips and related expenses.
In July, the Presidential Air Fleet received N846.03 million and another N674.82 million in foreign-exchange transit funding.
August saw several more forex transactions, including payments equivalent to $200,000, $300,000 and $315,300, as well as a direct N250 million travel-related expense.
The Presidential Air Fleet also received N2 billion and N713.22 million in forex funding during the month.
In September, four separate transactions of N197.69 million each were recorded against $1 million allocations for presidential trips.
Towards the end of the year, N114.24 million was paid to Hinterland Travel & Tours Limited for flight tickets.
51 trips, 261 days abroad
The massive expenditure has coincided with an extensive international travel schedule by the President.
Available travel records and flight data indicate that Tinubu had undertaken 51 foreign trips, visited at least 30 countries and spent approximately 261 days outside Nigeria since taking office on May 29, 2023.
His latest European vacation would take the tally to 52 trips.
France has reportedly featured most frequently on his itinerary, followed by London, while the United Arab Emirates has also been a regular destination.
The trips have covered international summits, bilateral meetings, state visits, investment engagements and working or private vacations.
Tinubu’s foreign trips
Tinubu’s first foreign trip as President was to Paris, France, in June 2023 for the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact.
He subsequently travelled to Guinea-Bissau for an ECOWAS summit and Kenya for an African Union meeting.
His 2023 itinerary also included visits to India and the UAE for the G20 Leaders’ Summit, the United States for the UN General Assembly, Germany for the G20 Compact with Africa conference, Saudi Arabia for the Saudi-Africa Summit and another trip to Guinea-Bissau.
He returned to France in November for a state visit before proceeding to Dubai for COP28.
In 2024, the President travelled extensively, visiting France, Ethiopia, Qatar, Senegal, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Chad, South Africa, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, China and other destinations.
His China trip in August and September included the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, while his subsequent UK visit featured an engagement with King Charles III.
In 2025, Tinubu travelled to Ghana, the UAE, Tanzania, France, Ethiopia, the Vatican City, Saint Lucia, Brazil and Japan, among other destinations.
He also undertook another working vacation in France and the UK before spending the end-of-year holiday in France.
2026: More trips
Tinubu began 2026 with another extended period abroad.
Records indicate that he spent about 22 days outside Nigeria in January alone, including time in France as part of his end-of-year break.
He later travelled to the UAE for Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and Türkiye for a state visit.
The Türkiye trip was described as his 47th foreign trip and saw him meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with nine agreements signed covering areas including trade, energy, media and higher education.
In March, he visited the UK, where a £746 million deal to modernise the Apapa and Tin Can ports was signed.
In May, he embarked on another international tour that took him to France, Kenya and Rwanda.
First Lady’s trips gulp N700.7m
While the President’s travel spending has attracted attention, records also showed that foreign-exchange allocations for overseas trips involving First Lady Oluremi Tinubu amounted to $553,884, equivalent to N700.71 million at the exchange rates used for the transactions.
The transactions covered trips to the United States, Mozambique, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom and France between 2023 and 2024.
The records, however, do not reveal the purpose of each trip, the duration, size of the delegation or the full cost beyond the forex component.
The first recorded transaction involved a US trip. State House Operations purchased $94,314, although the payment was processed on November 17, 2023, at a naira value of N77.66 million.
In 2024, four additional transactions totalling $459,570 were recorded.
They included:
- France: $152,831, valued at N149.79m
- Mozambique: $126,834, valued at N202.39m
- Ethiopia: $96,118, valued at N144.57m
- United Kingdom: $83,787, valued at N126.30m
Together, the 2024 transactions amounted to N623.05 million.
When the 2023 US allocation is added, the total forex purchased for the five recorded overseas destinations came to $553,884, worth N700,707,534.55 at the applicable exchange rates.
No similar foreign-trip forex payments for the First Lady were contained in the records for 2025 and 2026.
The revelations are likely to fuel further debate over the cost of presidential travel and spending linked to the First Lady’s office, particularly amid concerns that the office is not separately provided for in the federal budget.
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