In the span of three months, the Presidency reportedly spent approximately N701m to fund the foreign trips of Remi Tinubu to five countries.
A report by PUNCH confirms that in 2023, a total of N1.5bn was allocated for the procurement of vehicles for the Office of the First Lady.
The budgetary allocation was outlined in the N2.1 trillion supplementary budget for 2023, approved by the National Assembly. A breakdown of the budget shows that the government planned to spend N2.9 billion on sport utility vehicles for the Presidential Villa and another N2.9 billion to replace operational vehicles for the Presidency.
On November 17, 2023, the Presidency released N77.66 million through the State House transit account for foreign exchange ($94,314) to fund Remi Tinubu’s trip to the United States. Similarly, on February 24, 2024, N149.79 million was paid for foreign exchange ($152,831) for her trip to France, which took place on January 4, 2024.
In March 2024, the government made additional payments, including N202.39 million ($126,834) for Remi’s trip to Mozambique and N144.57 million ($96,118) for her trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Both payments were made on March 15, 2024.
The government, through the State House account, paid N126.3 million ($83,967) for Remi’s trip to London and spent an additional N314.2 million on six of her programs over four months.
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This indicates that a total sum of N1,014,939,004 has been spent by the government on Remi Tinubu’s trips and programmes over seven months altogether.
While reacting to the illegal spending made by the presidency, Eze Onyekper who serves as the Director of the Centre for Social Justice, said there is no law in the country that supports the First Lady’s office, and it is grossly illegal for the Federal Government to deploy scarce national resources for any activity related to the office.
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