The administration of President Bola Tinubu spent more than N37.6 billion on presidential travels and related expenses between June 2023 and April 2026, according to an analysis of government expenditure records.
The spending covers costs linked to presidential trips, foreign exchange transactions, logistics and other travel-related activities recorded by the State House during the period.
This is according to the figures obtained from GovSpend, a public accountability platform that monitors government expenditure.
Recall that Tinubu has again travelled outside Nigeria for a three-week annual vacation.
The President left Abuja on Sunday for Europe, with London in the United Kingdom as his first destination. The Presidency has described the trip as a working vacation and said Tinubu will continue to receive updates on important matters of state while away.
The latest journey brings the number of Tinubu’s foreign trips since he became President in May 2023 to 52, based on available travel records.
Before the latest departure, the President had spent about 261 days outside Nigeria across 51 foreign trips, visiting at least 30 countries.
The expenditure records show that travel-related spending was particularly high in 2024, when the Presidency recorded expenses of N25.27 billion.
The State House spent another N9.19 billion during the second half of 2023, while the figure fell to N2.71 billion in 2025. Between January and April 2026, an additional N477.45 million was recorded.
Altogether, the expenditure amounted to N37,639,227,853.51.
A significant portion of the spending was associated with foreign exchange transactions and the Presidential Air Fleet.
In the early months of Tinubu’s administration, the records showed several large payments connected to presidential movements and aircraft-related requirements.
On June 23, 2023, for instance, payments exceeding N150 million were recorded for “presidential trips and other related expenses.”
The following month, the Presidential Air Fleet received N846.03 million and N674.82 million in foreign exchange transit funding.
Further foreign exchange transactions were recorded in August, including payments of N152.37 million for $200,000, N228.55 million for $300,000 and N146.65 million for $315,300. Another N250 million was also listed as a travel-related expense.
The Presidential Air Fleet received another N2 billion and N713.22 million in foreign exchange funding during the same month.
By September, four separate transactions of N197.69 million each were recorded in connection with $1 million allocations for presidential trips.
The expenditure also included payments to travel companies. In November and December 2023, N114.24 million was paid to Hinterland Travel & Tours Limited for flight tickets.
The volume of spending has coincided with Tinubu’s extensive international schedule, which has seen him travel frequently for diplomatic engagements, international conferences, state visits, investment meetings and holidays.
His first foreign trip as President was to Paris in June 2023 for the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact.
From there, his international engagements took him to several African countries as well as India, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Germany and Saudi Arabia.
He attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the G20-related meetings in India, the G20 Compact with Africa conference in Germany and COP28 in Dubai, among other engagements.
The President’s international movements increased further in 2024, with visits to France, Ethiopia, Qatar, Senegal, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Chad, South Africa, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, China and the United Kingdom.
In 2025, his itinerary included Ghana, the UAE, Tanzania, France, Ethiopia, Vatican City, Saint Lucia, Brazil and Japan.
Tinubu also made several trips in 2026, including visits to the UAE, Türkiye, the UK, France, Kenya and Rwanda.
During his January 2026 visit to Türkiye, where he met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Nigeria and Türkiye signed nine agreements covering sectors including trade, energy, media and higher education.
A March visit to the UK also featured the signing of a £746 million agreement for the modernisation of the Apapa and Tin Can ports.
In May, the President travelled to France, Kenya and Rwanda for a number of international engagements, including the Africa-France Summit, the Africa Forward Summit and the Africa CEO Forum.
The Presidency has defended the President’s latest overseas break, saying his absence from Nigeria does not mean that he has stopped monitoring developments in the country.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, said Tinubu would remain in contact with members of his administration and receive regular briefings.
“Even though he’s going on leave, we know that he’ll be engaged with state matters on a daily basis. He will receive briefings from his ministers, from the service chiefs as the case may be, and from every other person who is handling very key decisions in our country,” Dare said.
Dare said the President had spent months handling major issues and deserved an opportunity to take a break before the political activities surrounding the 2027 election become more intense.
“The President is proceeding on a well-deserved leave,” he said.
According to him, the coming months would be particularly demanding because of the approaching election season.
“At this point, the campaign season has just started. We have four, five months of serious campaigning; of course, governance will continue,” Dare said.
“At this point, it’s important that the President also refuels.”
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga had earlier announced that Tinubu’s first stop would be London and said he would return to Nigeria after the vacation to participate in the campaign ahead of the 2027 election.
“President Tinubu is expected to return home after the working vacation to join the hectic campaign for the January 2027 election,” Onanuga said.
The President’s travel pattern has, however, attracted criticism, particularly over the cost of maintaining presidential movements at a time when Nigerians are facing economic difficulties.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar criticised the timing of Tinubu’s latest trip, arguing that the President should remain focused on the challenges confronting the country.
Atiku said Nigeria was dealing with high petrol prices, food insecurity, rising transport costs and insecurity while Tinubu was travelling abroad.
“Nigeria may not be facing a constitutional vacuum today, but there is a disturbing vacuum of political leadership,” he said.
He added, “Consider what Bola Tinubu is leaving behind. Petrol priced beyond the reach of ordinary people. Families rationing food. Transport fares that have turned a journey to one’s own village into a luxury. Insecurity that buries Nigerians week after week. And in the middle of all this, President Tinubu has packed his bags for three weeks in Europe.”
Atiku also criticised the President because Vice President Kashim Shettima was outside the country on official duties at the time Tinubu left Nigeria.
“Leadership is not merely the constitutional right to occupy an office; it is the judgment to know when your country needs you at home,” he said.
“A father may travel when all is well. But when his roof is burning and his family is trapped inside, he does not pick up his suitcase and head for the airport.”
The former Vice President further said, “Millions of Nigerians are being grounded by hardship while their President is airborne. The people can barely afford to move, but the President keeps moving.”
The expenditure records also shed light on foreign travel-related spending involving First Lady Oluremi Tinubu.
Between 2023 and 2024, $553,884 was purchased for overseas trips involving the First Lady, with the transactions valued at N700.71 million using the exchange rates applicable when the purchases were made.
The destinations listed in the records included the United States, Mozambique, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom and France.
The available records do not, however, establish the complete cost of those trips, as they do not state the size of the delegations, the duration of the journeys or other associated expenses.
The records show that $94,314 was allocated for a United States trip recorded in March 2023, although the payment was processed in November that year and valued at N77.66 million.
Four further transactions in 2024 brought the total foreign exchange purchased for the recorded trips to $459,570 for that year.
The largest of the 2024 allocations was $152,831 for France, valued at N149.79 million. Other transactions included $126,834 for Mozambique, $96,118 for Ethiopia and $83,787 for London.
