The amount is listed in the budget breakdown under State House operations – President.
A SaharaReporters review of the 2026 Nigerian budget has shown that a sum of N6.1 billion is planned to be spent by President Bola Tinubu on international travels in the fiscal year.
The amount is listed in the budget breakdown under State House operations – President.
According to the breakdown, the President also plans to spend N873 million on local travels during the fiscal year.
Vice President Kashim Shettima is expected to spend N1.3 billion on foreign trips in the 2026 fiscal year.
In total, President Tinubu and his Vice, Shettima, plan to spend N7.4 billion on foreign trips in 2026.
Last Sunday, President Tinubu departed Lagos for Europe to continue his end-of-year break ahead of an official trip to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, disclosed this in a statement shared across his social media platforms.
According to the statement, Tinubu would proceed to Abu Dhabi following an invitation from the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to participate in the 2026 edition of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit (ADSW 2026), slated for January.
According to the Presidency, the weeklong summit is an annual event that mobilises leaders from government, business, and society to chart the next era of sustainable development.
It was further noted that the President would return to the country after the summit.
Further review of the 2026 budget shows that N375 million has also been earmarked for foodstuffs and catering materials supply in the fiscal year.
While it remains unclear how much President Tinubu spent on international travels in 2025 due to the unavailability of comprehensive data and the government’s failure to publish a full expenditure breakdown throughout the year, a review of data from the Open Treasury Portal by SaharaReporters revealed that the Tinubu-led presidency spent N36 billion on international travels in 2024.
According to the State House Headquarters expenditure breakdown, N12.2 billion was allocated to "international travel and transport (training)," while N24.19 billion was spent on "international travel and transport (others)."
In total, the State House Headquarters spent N36.3 billion on international travels during the 2024 fiscal year.
Local travel and transport costs were also substantial. The presidency spent N15.8 billion on "local travel and transport (training)" and N31.2 billion on "local travel and transport (others)."
Altogether, the combined total for both local and international travel amounted to N83 billion, according to Open Treasury Portal data.
The soaring cost of presidential travel has sparked concern, especially amid claims of financial constraints facing Nigeria.
Peter Obi, a prominent opposition figure, recently voiced concerns over the frequency of trips undertaken by the President.
According to reports, the overhaul of the presidential aircraft’s engines was expected to cost the country N8.6 billion in 2025.
Amid growing concerns over expenditure incurred from presidential travels, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, defended the presidency’s foreign trips, insisting that President Tinubu should embark on even more international travels.
In August 2024, SaharaReporters reported that President Tinubu had spent a staggering N2.3 billion on foreign trips and related expenses within just six months.
Data obtained from the GovSpend platform, provided by the BudgIT Foundation, revealed that between February 21 and July 19, 2024, the President’s foreign trip expenses amounted to N2,346,623,000.
The State House Headquarters in Abuja also made several payments for presidential trips during this period, including N300 million in January 2024, N250 million in February, and a series of payments totalling N9 million and more on March 15, 2024.
Additional payments for presidential trips were made throughout the year, including significant sums in May and July, with one notable payment of N350 million recorded in both months.
Furthermore, between February 24 and March 15, 2024, the government spent over N2.9 billion on foreign exchange for President Tinubu, Vice President Shettima, and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu for trips to Ethiopia, Switzerland, Liberia, France, Côte d'Ivoire, and other destinations.