The Presidency spent an estimated ₦34.39 billion on foreign exchange purchases linked to international travel and related official commitments over a two-year period, according to an analysis of public spending records.
The data, obtained from GovSpend, a government expenditure tracking platform operated by BudgIT, covers transactions carried out between 2024 and 2025 by the State House and other offices connected to the President, Vice President, First Lady, and their support staff.
Included in the records are payments made by the Presidential Air Fleet, the Office of the Chief of Staff, and various State House operational units. Together, the figures reveal a notable shift in spending patterns across the two years, with a sharp reduction recorded in 2025.
Findings show that 2024 accounted for the majority of the expenditure, with foreign exchange purchases totalling ₦29.35 billion, while 2025 recorded ₦5.04 billion, representing an 82.8 per cent year-on-year decline.
The steep drop aligns with broader movements in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, particularly the gradual stabilisation of the naira following monetary reforms and improved dollar inflows during 2025.
Most of the forex transactions were tied to official overseas travel, aviation operations, estacodes, training programmes, and logistics for international engagements involving senior government officials.
Although the Presidency has consistently argued that such trips are essential for diplomacy, investment attraction, and bilateral cooperation, the scale of spending has continued to attract public attention, especially amid economic pressure, foreign exchange scarcity, and rising debt servicing costs.
In 2024, foreign exchange purchases were heavily concentrated in the first half of the year, a period marked by severe exchange rate volatility and sustained pressure on the naira.
A major driver of the expenditure during this period was the Presidential Air Fleet, which recorded several large transactions labelled as “forex transit funds.” The fleet, operated by the Nigerian Air Force, provides air transport for the President, Vice President, and other top officials.
Between March and May 2024, the fleet’s naira transit account reflected repeated purchases of approximately ₦1.27 billion on multiple dates, alongside larger payments such as ₦5.08 billion on April 23 and ₦2.43 billion on May 8.
Additional aviation-related forex payments followed in July and August, including transfers of ₦205 million, ₦1.25 billion, ₦2.21 billion, ₦1.24 billion, and ₦902.9 million, significantly increasing the fleet’s total foreign exchange bill.
Smaller transactions were also recorded later in the year, extending into September and December, bringing the fleet’s cumulative forex spending for 2024 into several billions of naira.
Beyond aviation, the State House Headquarters also logged extensive forex purchases throughout the year. In February 2024 alone, over ₦2.5 billion was spent on foreign exchange directly linked to trips undertaken by the President, Vice President, and First Lady.
These included payments for official visits to Switzerland, Ethiopia, Dubai, Côte d’Ivoire, France, and Liberia, among others. Similar spending patterns continued in March, covering additional trips to Mozambique, Addis Ababa, London, and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as estacodes tied to training programmes in the UK and United States.
Forex purchases intensified again from July 2024, with multiple same-day transactions running into hundreds of millions of naira. Large payments were also recorded in August, October, November, and December, reinforcing the pattern of sustained demand for foreign currency by the Presidency throughout the year.
By the end of 2024, cumulative forex purchases linked to presidential operations stood at ₦29.35 billion, making it one of the most expensive years for official international travel in recent history.
In contrast, 2025 saw a marked slowdown. Total forex purchases fell to ₦5.04 billion, with reductions observed across the Presidency, Vice Presidency, and supporting offices.
Transactions during the year were generally smaller and less frequent. April 2025 records show multiple purchases, mostly in the tens of millions of naira, rather than the multi-billion-naira transactions seen the previous year.
Although some larger payments were still recorded for the Presidential Air Fleet in mid-2025, they were fewer and spread over several months. By the second half of the year, forex purchases had tapered significantly.
This trend coincided with improved performance of the naira, which closed 2025 at ₦1,429 to the dollar, representing a 7.4 per cent appreciation from its end-2024 level. The gain marked the naira’s first annual appreciation since 2012, ending more than a decade of consistent yearly declines.
Despite the reduction, aviation-related expenses remained a key source of foreign exchange demand, renewing debate over the cost and sustainability of maintaining the Presidential Air Fleet.
Concerns have also been raised by civil society groups. The Country Director of Accountability Lab Nigeria, Odeh Friday, has previously questioned the impact of such spending on taxpayers, calling for greater transparency and accountability.
Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has also criticised President Bola Tinubu’s frequent foreign travel, arguing that prolonged absences raise questions about priorities amid domestic economic challenges.
Together, the figures underscore ongoing tensions between governance, diplomacy, and fiscal discipline, as Nigerians continue to scrutinise how public resources are allocated during a period of economic recovery.
