An analysis of government payment records has revealed that Nigerian federal ministries, departments, and agencies spent at least N50.41bn on foreign trips between June 2023 and June 19, 2026. The expenditure was recorded in 1,967 transactions involving 129 federal institutions and their agencies. This data was obtained from GovSpend, a public expenditure tracking platform developed by civic-tech organisation BudgIT.
The analysis, based on 9,305 entries obtained from six GovSpend transaction datasets, 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 of the total expenditure. 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 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.
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 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.
Other major spenders included the State House Headquarters with N4.83bn across 28 transactions, the Federal Ministry of Sports Development with N4.10bn in 25 payments, and State House Operations for the President with N2.12bn through 19 transactions. The Ministry of Sports Development’s N4.10bn bill was largely linked to Nigeria’s participation in the 2024 African Games in Accra, Ghana.
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.
Key points
- The Nigerian government spent N50.41bn on foreign trips between June 2023 and June 19, 2026.
- The Technical Aid Corps recorded the highest expenditure among MDAs with N11.70bn.
- Foreign air tickets constituted the largest component of the spending, accounting for N23.70bn or 47 per cent of the total.
