The Presidency allocated at least ₦34.39 billion for foreign exchange to fund international travel and associated obligations over 2024 and 2025, an investigation by The PUNCH using data from the BudgIT-managed GovSpend tracker has revealed. The expenditure, drawn from the State House, Presidential Air Fleet, and offices of the President, Vice President, and First Lady, shows a heavy skew toward 2024, which accounted for ₦29.35 billion of the total, while spending in 2025 fell sharply to ₦5.04 billion—marking an 82.8 percent year-on-year decline that corresponds with a period of naira stabilization from policy reforms.
The funds were used for aviation operations, estacodes, training, and logistics for official overseas engagements, prompting ongoing public scrutiny over the scale of such costs despite official insistence on their diplomatic and economic necessity. “While the Presidency has maintained that such trips are necessary for diplomacy, investment promotion and bilateral relations, the scale and timing of the spending have continued to draw public scrutiny amid Nigeria’s fiscal constraints and forex shortages.”