Federal Government Report Reveals N701m Expenditure on Remi Tinubu’s Foreign Trips in Three Months

A recent investigative report has uncovered that the Federal Government has disbursed approximately N701 million to finance the overseas travels of the nation’s First Lady, Remi Tinubu, to five different countries within a span of three months. This revelation, based on data from GovSpend – a civic tech platform monitoring government expenditures, sheds light on the allocation of N700,707,532 over three months for the First Lady’s visits to various nations, including two in Africa.

According to records, on November 17, 2023, the State House headquarters transit account authorized the release of N77,659,888 for the acquisition of foreign exchange ($94,314) to facilitate the First Lady’s trip to the United States. Subsequently, on February 24, 2024, N149,794,284 was dispensed for foreign exchange ($152,831) for her visit to France on January 4, 2024. Furthermore, on March 15, 2024, an additional N202,386,198 was granted through the State House account for foreign exchange ($126,834) for her journey to Mozambique that month. The same day saw the disbursement of N144,571,785 for foreign exchange ($96,118) for the First Lady’s travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 9, 2024. Also, N126,295,377 was allocated for foreign exchange ($83,967) for her excursion to London during that period.

Beyond the foreign trips, the government also allocated a total of N314,231,472 for six events organized by the First Lady over four months. Notably, on May 24, 2024, Rock of Ages Total Events Centre Ltd received N131,921,786 for the elaborate decoration of State House events held as part of the First Lady’s programs for women, youth, and children. Additionally, on May 29, 2024, Makeway Nigeria Limited was compensated N107,630,000 for providing multimedia and related services during these programs.

In aggregate, data indicates that a significant sum of N1,014,939,004 has been spent by the government on the trips and activities associated with the First Lady.