Federal ministries, departments and agencies of the Nigerian government spent at least N50.41bn on foreign trips, air tickets, allowances and overseas training between June 2023 and June 2026, an analysis of government payment records has shown.
The analysis by The PUNCH, based on data obtained from GovSpend, covered 1,967 transactions involving 129 federal institutions and agencies.
The figure represents a minimum estimate because the analysis only considered payments of N5m and above. Thousands of smaller travel-related transactions were therefore excluded.
Foreign air tickets accounted for the largest share of the expenditure, at N23.70bn, representing 47 per cent of the total. Estacode and offshore allowances followed with N17.05bn, or 33.8 per cent.
Other foreign travel expenses, including visas, accommodation, participation fees, foreign exchange, protocol and logistics, amounted to N5.35bn, while overseas training accounted for N4.32bn.
The expenditure increased from N16.54bn between June 2023 and May 2024 to N19.13bn in the following 12-month period. It later declined to N14.66bn between June 2025 and May 2026.
The Technical Aid Corps recorded the highest expenditure among the institutions analysed, with N11.70bn spent through 93 transactions. The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation followed with N5.16bn from two transactions.
The Accountant-General’s Office recorded the single largest payment in the dataset — N5.15bn released in December 2024 for outstanding estacode allowances and flight tickets associated with official foreign trips by the Vice-President and First Lady.
State House Headquarters recorded N4.83bn, while the Federal Ministry of Sports Development spent N4.10bn, largely in connection with Nigeria’s participation in the 2024 African Games in Accra, Ghana.
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure recorded N2.05bn through 221 transactions, the highest number of payments among the institutions covered.
Other notable expenditures included N1.58bn by the Federal Ministry of Finance, N1.05bn by the Federal Ministry of Education and N1.05bn by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The data also showed that the government spent N498.89m on air tickets and ground handling for members of the House of Representatives and officials of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission travelling to Rome and Israel for a research and programme development visit.
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised over the scale of foreign travel expenditure amid Nigeria’s fiscal pressures.
Accountability advocates have called for greater scrutiny of such spending and assessment of the outcomes generated from official foreign trips.
The Federal Government has also moved to tighten controls on foreign travel by government officials. In an August 13, 2026 circular, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, directed MDAs to stop processing payments for official foreign trips undertaken without prior approval from the Office of the SGF.
The directive requires accounting officers and heads of government agencies to ensure that expenditure on official foreign travel is not processed without the required approval.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also directed to require evidence of SGF approval when processing diplomatic and visa-related requests for government officials travelling abroad.
The latest expenditure figures have renewed attention on the management of public funds and the need to ensure that official foreign travel is tied to clearly defined government objectives and measurable outcomes.
