Several ministries and agencies under President Bola Tinubu’s administration have spent over N1.8 billion on air tickets, estacodes, and Duty Tour Allowances between July and September 2024, according to data obtained from GovSpend.
According to The PUNCH, the ministries and agencies involved include the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Police Affairs, Ministry of Youth Development, Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, the Office of the Auditor General, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Technical Aid Corps, Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
Breakdowns of the expenditures show N755.88 million spent on DTAs and an additional N1.04 billion on air tickets and estacodes for foreign trips, bringing the total to N1.8 billion within three months.
Among the highest spenders were the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, with expenses totaling N322 million; the Ministry of Finance, which spent N187.2 million; the ICPC at N150 million; and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources with N108 million.
This spending occurred despite a three-month ban on government-funded trips imposed by President Tinubu in April 2024.
The ban, communicated through a letter from the President’s Chief of Staff on March 2, 2024, was intended to curb rising travel expenses and ensure ministers focused on their mandates. However, the ban expired in June, and spending resumed shortly after.
Debo Adenira, Chairman of the Centre for Accountability and Open Leadership, criticized the expenditures as excessive. “We have advised the government that in these austere times, officials should refrain from wasteful spending.
While we can excuse the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy because it is new and still learning, other ministries, like the Ministry of Women Affairs, have been operating for years and should know better.”
Okechukwu Nwaguma, Executive Director of the Rule of Law Accountability and Advocacy Centre, echoed these sentiments, stating that the spending highlights “a misallocation of government resources” and called for stricter policies regarding travel and expenditure.
Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre, expressed disappointment that these trips had not yielded significant foreign investment for Nigeria.
He stressed the importance of ensuring public funds are used effectively and in the best interest of the nation.
Efforts to get comments from government officials were unsuccessful. The Director of Information and Public Relations for the Ministry of Finance, Mohammed Manga, was unreachable, while the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy’s spokesperson, Olujimi Oyetomi, declined to comment.
