In the span of three months, the Federal Government spent approximately N701m to fund the foreign trips of the country’s First Lady, Remi Tinubu, to five countries, Saturday PUNCH can confirm.

Recall that in 2023, the Federal Government allocated N1.5bn for the procurement of vehicles for the Office of the First Lady.

This budgetary allocation was outlined in the N2.1tn supplementary budget for 2023 approved by the National Assembly.

A breakdown of the budget shows the government planned to spend N2.9bn on sport utility vehicles for the Presidential Villa and another N2.9bn to replace operational vehicles for the Presidency.

Former Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, however, claimed that the N1.5bn budgeted for vehicles was for the Presidency and not for the First Lady’s office.

However, checks by our correspondent, using GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks and analyses Federal Government’s spending, showed that the government paid out N700,707,532 over three months for the First Lady’s foreign trips to five countries, including two African nations.

On November 17, 2023, the government, through the State House headquarters transit account, released 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 N149,794,284 for the purchase of foreign exchange ($152,831) for the First Lady’s trip to France on January 4, 2024.

On March 15, 2024, N202,386,198 was also paid by the government through the State House account for the purchase of foreign exchange ($126,834) for the First Lady’s trip to Mozambique that month.

On the same day, the government paid N144,571,785 for the purchase of foreign exchange ($96,118) for the First Lady’s trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 9, 2024.

The government, through the same State House account, paid N126,295,377 for the purchase of foreign exchange ($83,967) for the First Lady’s trip to London that month.

Additionally, the government spent 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 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.

Reacting, the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership said it was out of place to spend such a humongous amount on the First Lady’s office, which isn’t recognised by the constitution.

In an interview with Saturday PUNCH, the Executive Director of CACOL, Debo Adeniran, said the complacency of the National Assembly has criminally empowered the executive to spend the national treasury on frivolities, and the only way Nigerians can stop the ugly trend is to consistently speak out against it.

He said, “It is more than profligacy. It is actually a misappropriation of funds because the office of the First Lady doesn’t exist in our constitution and is not supposed to be appropriated for. So, every appropriation that is made for that office is illegal. It is just because our National Assembly is complacent. They are not performing their oversight functions the way they should.

“Otherwise, everybody who dips his or her hand into the national coffers to fund any project that is not in accordance with the dictates of our constitution has committed an offence. If it is elected government personnel, it is an impeachable offence. So, it is out of place for such a humongous amount.”

He noted that the frivolous spending by the government has given the masses no reason to believe the numerous promises of lifting them out of the current hardship.

“Nigerians cannot reason with the government because they (the government) have not set their priorities right. They spend on frivolities rather than on things that will improve the lives of the people. So, no matter how genuine the government’s intention is in redeeming the economy, they are not showing us those signals as of now. Nigerians should begin to agitate in the right direction, and constitutionality must be a sine qua non in everything the government does,” he added.

Also reacting, the Director of the Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekper, said there is no law in the country that supports the First Lady’s office, and it is grossly illegal for the Federal Government to deploy scarce national resources for any activity related to the office.

He said, “The first question you should ask is whether the money is provided in the budget and whether it is proper to make provisions for a purported office that is not recognized in the constitution or any law of Nigeria. I am not aware of any constitutional provision creating the office of the First Lady, nor am I aware of any law creating the office. So, what they are doing is clearly illegal. It is an abuse of office, especially if it is funded from the public treasury unless she brings the money from her private purse. But if it is from taxpayers’ money, it is an abuse of office.”

Punch