Presidency Spent ₦34bn on Forex for Foreign Travel in Two Years

The Presidency spent at least ₦34.39 billion on foreign exchange purchases for international travel and related official obligations over a two-year period, an investigation by The PUNCH has revealed.

The figure is based on data obtained from GovSpend, a government expenditure tracking platform managed by BudgIT.

Records covering transactions by the State House, Presidential Air Fleet, Office of the Chief of Staff, and operations linked to the President, Vice President, First Lady, and their aides show a sharp contrast in spending patterns between 2024 and 2025.

2024 Accounts for Bulk of Spending

An analysis of the data indicates that 2024 accounted for the lion’s share of forex expenditure, with total purchases amounting to ₦29.35bn, while 2025 recorded ₦5.04bn.

This represents a year-on-year decline of 82.8 per cent, reflecting broader developments in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, including policy reforms and improved dollar inflows that helped stabilise the naira.

The forex purchases were largely for official foreign trips, aviation operations, estacodes, training programmes, and logistics tied to international engagements involving senior government officials.

While the Presidency maintains that such trips are necessary for diplomacy, investment promotion, and bilateral relations, the scale and timing of the spending have drawn sustained public scrutiny amid Nigeria’s fiscal challenges and persistent forex shortages.

Presidential Air Fleet Drives Major Costs

In 2024, forex purchases were heavily concentrated in the first half of the year, coinciding with intense exchange-rate volatility and pressure on the naira.

One of the largest cost centres was the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF), which recorded several multi-billion-naira transactions labelled as “presidential air fleet forex transit funds.”

The PAF, managed by the Nigerian Air Force, handles air transport for the President, Vice President, and other senior officials. Despite its strategic role, the fleet’s cost has long been criticised amid rising public debt and fiscal strain.

Between March and May 2024, the Presidential Air Fleet Naira Transit Account recorded repeated forex purchases of about ₦1.27bn on March 7, March 9, April 6, May 11, and May 25. Larger tranches included ₦5.08bn on April 23 and ₦2.43bn on May 8.

Additional transfers—₦205m in July, ₦34m, ₦1.25bn, ₦2.21bn, ₦160.4m, ₦1.24bn, and ₦902.9m in August—further ballooned the fleet’s forex bill.

Smaller transactions followed in September and December, pushing the fleet’s cumulative forex-linked spending in 2024 into several billions of naira.

State House Trips Also Record Heavy Forex Use

Beyond aviation costs, the State House Headquarters recorded extensive forex purchases throughout 2024.

In February alone, over ₦2.5bn was spent on forex directly linked to official trips:

• ₦426.88m – Vice President’s trip to Switzerland
• ₦1.04bn – President’s trip to Ethiopia
• ₦750m – President’s trip to Dubai
• ₦176.77m – Vice President’s trip to Côte d’Ivoire
• ₦149.79m – First Lady’s trip to France
• ₦86.76m – Vice President’s trip to Liberia

In March 2024, further spending included:

• ₦202.39m – First Lady’s trip to Mozambique
• ₦144.57m – First Lady’s trip to Addis Ababa
• ₦126.30m – Trip to London
• ₦201.12m – Vice President’s trip to Côte d’Ivoire
• ₦169.54m – Estacodes for UK and US training programmes

From July 2024, forex purchases intensified, with multiple same-day transactions on July 17 totalling hundreds of millions of naira. Additional large payments followed in August and October, including a significant ₦1.36bn transaction on October 28.

By the final quarter of the year, spending remained elevated. In November, several transactions were recorded by State House Operations – President, while December added another ₦736.20m, reinforcing sustained forex demand throughout 2024.

Sharp Pullback in 2025

In contrast, 2025 marked a notable reduction in forex spending, with total purchases falling to ₦5.04bn.

The decline cut across the Presidency, Vice Presidency, and supporting offices, with transactions becoming smaller and more sporadic, suggesting tighter controls on forex outflows.

April 30, 2025, recorded multiple forex purchases by State House Operations, but most were in the tens of millions, not billions. Even larger mid-year figures—₦1.29bn, ₦1.28bn, and ₦626m linked to the Presidential Air Fleet—were fewer and spread over time.

By the second half of the year, spending tapered further, with modest transactions in August, November, and December.

Naira Records First Annual Gain in 13 Years

The PUNCH observed that the naira ended 2025 stronger, closing at ₦1,429/$1 on December 31—a 7.4 per cent appreciation from ₦1,535/$1 at the end of 2024, according to official Central Bank of Nigeria data.

The local currency had depreciated by 40.9 per cent in 2024, making the 2025 gain the naira’s first annual appreciation since 2012, ending a 13-year streak of declines.

Renewed Calls for Accountability

A further breakdown of the GovSpend data shows that aviation-related expenses remain the single biggest driver of forex demand, reigniting debate over the size, cost, and sustainability of the Presidential Air Fleet.

The Country Director of Accountability Lab Nigeria, Odeh Friday, raised concerns about the burden of such spending on taxpayers.

“This highlights the urgent need for greater accountability in the management of public finances,” he said, questioning whether the expenditures genuinely serve national interests.

Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi also criticised President Bola Tinubu’s frequent foreign trips, noting that the President spent 23 days abroad in January across two separate trips.

“While leaders in other nations focus on domestic governance at the start of the year, Nigeria’s president prioritises international engagements over pressing national issues,” Obi said.

He questioned the urgency of the trips, arguing that the President often returns briefly before embarking on another foreign visit.