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Jonathan Spends N3.3 billion on Foreign Trips… Cost of Governance Soars

By on December 7, 2012

President Goodluck Jonathan has spent billions of naira on foreign trips in 2012 despite his earlier promise to cut down these expenses.

Research has shown that the President together with his entourage have spent nothing less that 3.354bn since 2010 on foreign trips.

The President within the first 11 months of this year flew out at least 20 times.

It could be recalled that in September alone the President travelled out of the country four times, including his trips to Addis Ababa.

Within the first nine months when he first became President, he spent N970.891m on foreign travels.

Sadly enough the budget did not state explicitly the figures for his travels, investigations have shown that President Jonathan spent N1.7bn on foreign trips.

In 2012, N684.74m was budget for foreign travels alone.

The promise to cut down the cost of governance seems to have been thrown in the bust because the 2013 budget says that N2.6bn would be spent on his foreign trips.

During his presidency, the President was reported to have flown to different destinations in Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, and South America.

In 2011, he visited numerous countries including, United States, France, Uganda, Australia, Ghana, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and Ethiopia among others.

The President travels with his entourage, top aides, and officials of the Presidential Villa are usual faces on such trips, ministries applicable to the purpose of his overseas trips also send delegations.

In recent times the president travels with two members of the National Assembly (one from each chamber), depending on the purpose of his visit.

Sahara reporters had in June claimed that Jonathan travelled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the United Nations’ Earth Summit with 116 government officials.

Although the President rebuffed the figures but he never gave out the exact figure.

Jonathan had said in a national broadcast in January, “I have directed that overseas travels by all political office-holders, including the President, should be reduced to the barest minimum. The size of delegations on foreign trips will also be drastically reduced; only trips that are absolutely necessary will be approved.”

One Comment

  1. Nura Mohammed Kamfut

    December 7, 2012 at 9:11 pm

    What a contradiction, d same govt dat is talking about cutting cost of governance, spent dis huge sum of money just 4 foreign trips dat has no meaning 2 d ordinary man on d street.t