MDAs’ foreign trips gulp N50bn

Federal ministries, departments and agencies released at least N50.41bn for foreign trips, air tickets, estacode, offshore allowances and overseas training between June 2023 and June 19, 2026, an analysis of government payment records has shown.

The expenditure was recorded in 1,967 transactions involving 129 federal institutions and their agencies, according to data obtained from GovSpend and analysed by The PUNCH.

GovSpend is a public expenditure tracking platform developed by civic-tech organisation BudgIT to make Federal Government payment records accessible for public scrutiny.

The PUNCH analysis was based on 9,305 entries obtained from six GovSpend transaction datasets. After removing 1,001 duplicated entries, the dataset contained 8,304 unique payments. A further 6,337 transactions were excluded because their descriptions did not provide sufficient evidence that they were connected to foreign travel.

Also, the analysis covered payments of N5m and above. This means the N50.41bn represents a minimum figure, as thousands of smaller travel-related transactions below the threshold were not captured in the dataset.

Three complete 12-month periods from June 2023 to May 2026 accounted for N50.34bn, while another N69.88m was released between June 1 and June 19, 2026. The records showed that foreign air tickets constituted the largest component of the spending, accounting for N23.70bn or 47 per cent of the total.

Estacode and offshore allowances followed with N17.05bn, representing 33.8 per cent. Other foreign-travel expenses, including visas, accommodation, participation fees, foreign exchange, protocol and travel logistics, amounted to N5.35bn or 10.6 per cent. Training outside Nigeria accounted for N4.32bn, equivalent to 8.6 per cent.

The expenditure rose from N16.54bn in the first period covering June 2023 to May 2024 to N19.13bn between June 2024 and May 2025. This represented an increase of N2.59bn or 15.7 per cent.

It subsequently fell by N4.47bn or 23.4 per cent to N14.66bn between June 2025 and May 2026.

The PUNCH further observed that the government recorded 714 foreign-travel transactions in the first year, at an average of N23.17m per payment. The number increased to 780 in the second year, with an average value of N24.53m.

Transactions fell to 467 in the third year, but the average value rose to N31.39m, indicating that fewer but larger payments drove the expenditure during the period.

The Technical Aid Corps recorded the highest expenditure among the MDAs, with N11.70bn paid through 93 transactions. The amount represented 23.2 per cent of the total foreign-travel bill.

A substantial part of the agency’s expenditure covered offshore allowances for Nigerian volunteers and other foreign-service activities. Its major releases included N1.45bn in July 2025, N1.27bn in April 2026, N1.23bn in May 2025 and N1.22bn in December 2025.

Another N1.01bn was released in October 2025, while payments of N884.28m and N812.24m were recorded in May and April 2026, respectively. The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation ranked second, with N5.16bn recorded in two transactions.

Its largest transaction, and the single biggest payment in the dataset, was N5.15bn released in December 2024 for what the payment description identified as outstanding estacode allowances and flight tickets for the Vice-President and First Lady’s official foreign trips that were not budgeted for in 2023 and 2024.

The records indicate that the payment was processed by the Accountant-General’s office, although the expenditure related to State House foreign trips. State House Headquarters followed with N4.83bn across 28 transactions, while the Federal Ministry of Sports Development recorded N4.10bn in 25 payments.

State House Operations for the President spent another N2.12bn through 19 transactions. State House Operations for the Vice-President separately recorded N691.66m across nine payments.

The State House Headquarters payments included N1.04bn released for foreign exchange connected with President Bola Tinubu’s trip to Ethiopia in February 2024. It also included N750m for a presidential trip to Dubai in November 2023 and N426.88m for the Vice-President’s trip to Switzerland in January 2024.

The Ministry of Sports Development’s N4.10bn bill was largely linked to Nigeria’s participation in the 2024 African Games in Accra, Ghana. The payments covered chartered flights, participation fees, allowances, estacode, and other expenses for the Nigerian contingent.

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure recorded N2.05bn through 221 transactions, the highest number of payments by any institution in the dataset. The Federal Ministry of Finance followed with N1.58bn across 117 transactions, while the Federal Ministry of Education recorded N1.05bn through 20 payments.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs accounted for N1.05bn across 68 transactions, while the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit recorded N1.01bn through 93 payments.

Other major spenders included the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, with N963.78m; the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, N773.68m; the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, N760.56m; and Police Formations and Commands, N731.82m.

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The Ministry of Education’s transactions included N291.03m paid in December 2024 for one-way air tickets for 109 Nigerian scholars travelling from Abuja to Moscow, Russia.

It also released N249.60m for one-way air tickets for 78 beneficiaries of the 2023/2024 Morocco scholarship programme.

In February 2025, the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission paid N498.89m for air tickets and ground handling for members of the House of Representatives and commission officials travelling to Rome and Israel for what was described as a research and programme development visit.

The payment records also showed that N23.70bn classified under foreign air tickets covered 958 transactions, making it the largest category by both value and volume.

Estacode and offshore allowances accounted for 488 payments, while overseas training generated 399 transactions. Other foreign-travel expenses were recorded in 122 payments.

Critics have argued that while such trips may be necessary for diplomatic and professional development, the scale of these expenditures may not always reflect the best interests of taxpayers.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project recently raised concerns about the expenditure on estacodes by the MDAs, describing it as a potentially troubling misuse of public funds.

In an earlier phone interview, SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, expressed his apprehension over the spending, emphasising the misalignment between the government’s priorities and the economic realities faced by Nigerians.

He further noted that the discrepancy between capital and recurrent expenditure is a reflection of the government’s skewed fiscal priorities. Oluwadare clarified that while public officials are entitled to estacodes, the scale of the expenditure should be carefully examined.

“It is not like this government or public officials are not entitled to estacodes, but I don’t know the quantum that we can say is justifiable,” he said.

He pointed out the staggering amount involved in these payments, particularly in comparison to the country’s capital expenditure.

The Country Director of Accountability Lab Nigeria, Odeh Friday, recently expressed his alarm over the impact such spending has on taxpayers and the need for increased transparency and accountability.

“This highlights the urgent need for a shift toward greater equality and accountability in the management of public finances,” Friday said.

He emphasised that it is critical to evaluate the outcomes of these significant expenditures, questioning whether they truly serve the interests of the Nigerian people.

The PUNCH earlier reported that the Federal Government directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to stop processing payments for official foreign trips undertaken by government appointees without prior approval from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The directive was contained in a circular dated August 13, 2026, issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and addressed to the Chief of Staff to the President, all ministers, Heads of the Civil Service, service chiefs, heads of federal agencies, and chief executives of parastatals and government-owned companies.

The circular, with reference number PRS59648/S.13/TI/335, noted that despite existing regulations, “some Federal Government appointees continue to embark on official foreign trips without obtaining prior approval from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, contrary to extant government directives and established administrative procedures.”

According to the document, the government has issued at least five previous circulars since 2012 to regulate foreign travel by cabinet members and public officials, but instances of non-compliance continue to be recorded, a trend it said undermines the government’s efforts to ensure proper coordination, accountability, transparency, and prudent management of public resources.

The circular directed accounting officers, permanent secretaries, Chief Executive Officers, and heads of Federal Government agencies to ensure that no expenditure relating to official foreign travel by government appointees is processed unless the requisite OSGF approval has first been obtained.

It further mandated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make evidence of OSGF approval a compulsory requirement when processing Notes Verbales, diplomatic facilitation, and visa applications for government appointees travelling abroad.