The Presidency spent N37.64 billion on presidential travel and related expenses between June 2023 and April 2026, according to government expenditure records tracked by GovSpend.
The expenditure totalled N37,639,227,853.51 and covered presidential trips, logistics, foreign exchange and other travel-related costs.
The disclosure came as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu left Abuja on Sunday, August 30, 2026, for a three-week vacation in Europe, beginning in London, United Kingdom.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu would return after the working vacation to join preparations for the January 2027 elections. The Presidency did not disclose his full itinerary or other European destinations.
The trip followed Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s return from a two-week vacation.
The GovSpend records showed that the Presidency spent N9.19 billion between June and December 2023, N25.27 billion in 2024, N2.71 billion in 2025 and N477.45 million between January and April 2026.
The 2024 figure was the highest during the period, with foreign-exchange transactions and funding for the Presidential Air Fleet accounting for significant portions of the expenditure.
Shortly after Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, payments exceeding N150 million were recorded on June 23 for presidential trips and related expenses.
In July, the Presidential Air Fleet received N846.03 million and N674.82 million in foreign-exchange transit funding.
August recorded further transactions, including N152.37 million for $200,000, N228.55 million for $300,000 and N146.65 million for $315,300, alongside a N250 million travel expense. The Air Fleet also received N2 billion and N713.22 million in foreign-exchange funding that month.
Four September transactions of N197.69 million each were linked to $1 million allocations for presidential trips, while N114.24 million was later paid to Hinterland Travel & Tours Limited for flight tickets in November and December 2023.
The expenditure coincided with an extensive foreign travel schedule by Tinubu.
Available travel records and flight data showed that the President had made 51 foreign trips, visited at least 30 countries and spent about 261 days outside Nigeria before his latest departure. The August 30 journey brings the tally to 52.
France has reportedly been his most frequent destination, followed by the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
Tinubu’s first foreign trip as President was to Paris from June 20 to 24, 2023, for the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact.
His 2023 itinerary also included Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, India, the UAE, the United States, Germany and Saudi Arabia, as well as a state visit to France from November 27 to December 1 and attendance at COP28 in Dubai.
In 2024, he travelled to France, Ethiopia, Qatar, Senegal, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Chad, South Africa, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, China and the United Kingdom.
His 2025 travels included Ghana, the UAE, Tanzania, France, Ethiopia, Vatican City, Saint Lucia, Brazil and Japan, among other destinations.
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Tinubu spent September 4 to 17, 2025, on a working vacation in France and the UK before leaving Lagos on December 28 for an end-of-year break in France that extended into January 2026.
He spent about 22 days abroad in January 2026, including part of the holiday in France, and attended Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in the UAE from January 12 to 17.
From January 26 to 31, he visited Türkiye for a state visit, his 47th foreign trip. He met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and witnessed the signing of nine agreements covering trade, energy, media and higher education.
In March, Tinubu travelled to the UK, where a £746 million agreement was signed for the modernisation of the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports.
In May, he visited France, Kenya and Rwanda for engagements including the Africa-France Summit, Africa Forward Summit and Africa CEO Forum.
Separate GovSpend records showed that $553,884 in foreign exchange, valued at N700,707,534.55, was released for overseas trips involving First Lady Oluremi Tinubu between 2023 and 2024.
The transactions covered the United States, France, Mozambique, Ethiopia and the United Kingdom but represented only the foreign-exchange component and did not establish the overall cost of the trips.
The first allocation was $94,314 for a United States trip dated March 11, 2023. The payment was made on November 17, 2023, and valued at N77.66 million.
Four transactions in 2024 involved France, Mozambique, Addis Ababa and London, bringing the annual total to $459,570, valued at N623.05 million.
No foreign-trip forex payments involving the First Lady appeared in the records for 2025 and 2026.
President and Convener of the Transparency and Accountability Group, Ayo Ologun, called for scrutiny of the legal and budgetary basis of the expenditure.
Concerns over presidential travel are not new. An International Centre for Investigative Reporting analysis published in 2022 found that former President Muhammadu Buhari made 16 foreign trips in the first 11 months of that year, while N1.5 billion was provided for foreign travel in the 2022 budget.
The figures do not establish comparable spending between the two administrations but illustrate the recurring public debate over the cost and frequency of presidential travel.
Meanwhile, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar criticised the timing of Tinubu’s latest vacation, citing economic hardship, rising living costs and insecurity.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, said the circumstances required greater presidential attention at home and also pointed to Shettima’s official engagement outside Nigeria.
The Presidency defended the President’s leave, saying governance would continue during his absence.
Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, said Tinubu had spent months handling major national issues, particularly security and the economy, and needed the break to “refuel” ahead of the 2027 political season.
Dare said the President would continue receiving briefings from ministers, service chiefs and other senior officials while abroad.
The latest expenditure figures have renewed attention to the cost and frequency of presidential travel and the broader question of transparency in public spending.