After Pledging To ‘Show Good Example’, Tinubu’s Wife Spends Over N700million On Foreign Trips To US
Oluremi, the wife of President Bola Tinubu, has spent the sum of N700,707,532 over some months on foreign trips to five countries, including two African nations, amid the biting hardship facing citizens in the country.
The civic tech platform, GovSpend, which tracks and analyses government’s spending, showed that the government paid out the sum of N700,707,532 over six months for the First Lady’s foreign trips.
It was reported in July that Oluremi unveiled a vegetable garden in the State House as her contribution to the nation’s food drive, while pledging to be “a good example” in the country.
“This little garden will be able to provide healthy vegetables enough for my household and I would definitely be able to let some of my staff have as well.
“The solution to any problem lies in everyone contributing their own quota to getting that solution. As a leader, I must show example and plant my own garden,” she had said.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government sponsored First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s trips to these countries: United States, France, UK, Mozambique, and Ethiopia.
On November 17, 2023, the government, through the State House headquarters transit account, released the sum of N77,659,888 for the purchase of foreign exchange ($94,314) for the First Lady’s trip to the United States.
On February 24, 2024, the government, through the State House headquarters transit account, paid the sum of N149,794,284 for the purchase of foreign exchange ($152,831) for the First Lady’s trip to France on January 4, 2024.
Also, N126.295 million was spent on her trip to London in March 2024, equivalent to $83,967.00.
Further analysis reveals that N144.571 million (approximately $96,118) was spent on her trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 9, 2024 while N202.386 million (approximately $126,834) was spent on her trip to Mozambique in March 2024.
The exchange rate used for this transaction was approximately N1,504 per dollar.
Additionally, the government spent a total sum of N314,231,472 on six programmes of the First Lady within four months.
On May 24, 2024, Rock of Ages Total Events Centre Ltd received the sum of N131,921,786 for full-scale decoration of State House events for the First Lady’s programmes for women, youth, and children.
On May 29, 2024, the State House paid N107,630,000 to Makeway Nigeria Limited for the provision of multimedia and related services during the First Lady’s programmes for women, youth, and children.
This indicates that a total sum of N1,014,939,004 has been spent by the government on the First Lady’s trips and programmes over seven months altogether.
