Since Muhammadu Buhari took office in May 29 he has travelled a lot. But how much does one trip of the president cost Nigeria?
Sahara Reporters has made an
investigation detailing the important financial cost of journeys
undertaken by President Buhari and his team.
Nigerians severely criticize the leader
of the nation over his frequent trips, saying that there is so much work
to do inside the country, due to a crushing fuel scarcity, continuous
attacks by Boko Haram insurgents, and blackouts which demand immediate
and focused attention.
A normal two-day long Buhari trip
reportedly rates between $350K and $500K. For example, during the last
presidential trip to Tehran, the capital of Iran, the travel expenses
for accompanying presidency officials was $105K. Furthermore,
transportation budgets stood at $45K, accommodation $200K, allowance
$10K, contingency $20K, with media coverage costs at $10K.
The estimate for the ongoing trip to
France of the travel expenses for accompanying presidency officials is
$130K, transportation $55K, accommodation $270K, honorarium $10K,
contingency $20K and media coverage $10K. The total cost for the visit
is $495K.
President Buhari is scheduled to visit South Africa immediately after returning from Paris.
Consequently the cost of the next trip
of the president is as follows: travel expenses for accompanying
presidency officials $110K, transportation $35K, accommodation $220K,
honorarium $10K, contingency $20K, and media coverage $10K, for a total
of $405K.
According to a source at the
Presidential Air Fleet they have an isolated budget for fueling the
airplanes as well as payments for the presidential air fleet commander,
pilots and the air stewards.
The costs mentioned above cover only
personnel from Aso Rock villa, aides, protocol officers, members of the
press, security personnel, a cook, a luggage
However, the investigation did not
disclose what Buhari gets per night, as this information is handled
independently and secretly. Moreover, the minister of foreign affairs
and five members of his team who typically escort the Nigerian president
are not included in the costs as they are paid from the ministry’s
budget.
At the same time the sums for honorarium ($10K), contingency ($20K) and media coverage ($10K) are fixed for all trips.
The State House chief of protocol
receives honorarium and contingency while Femi Adesina, the presidential
media aide, receives $10K for “media coverage.”
President Buhari has only visited four
Nigerian states since assuming office. His long-awaited visit to Lagos
three days ago to launch anti-crime helicopters, boats and vehicles did
not occur but led to a traffic meltdown.
Buhari has faced criticism from Nigerians for not settling down to concentrate on government.
However, Garba Shehu, his presidential
media aide, defends President Buhari, saying that his trips are not like
your usual vacation abroad.
According to him, Buhari has cut the numbers in the delegations accompanying him abroad, bringing them down to the bare minimum.
President Buhari has so far visited
Germany, South Africa, the USA, Niger, Tchad, Cameroon, Benin, Ghana,
South Africa, India, Iran and Malta, and currently the leader of the
nation is with his team in France
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