President Goodluck Jonathan and his aides are expected to spend N1.289bn on foreign trips in the 2013 fiscal year.
This is not inclusive of the sum of N149.92m, being the cost of international travels for officials of the State House for various levels of training abroad.
The details were contained in the 2013 budget of the presidency, which was passed by the National Assembly in December last year.
The amount is part of the total N7.476bn overhead cost for the State House.
The figure suggests that the President is likely going to embark on more foreign trips this year following the almost 100 per cent increase from what was budgeted in 2012.
A perusal of the 2012 Appropriation Act showed that the President and his men spent a total of N566.644m last year on foreign trips.
This was part of the N6.4bn overhead cost for the State House, about N1bn less than what was estimated for 2013.
Likewise, this did not include the N118.09m which was spent last year on training officials of the State House.
Meanwhile, barely a month and a few days into the year, the President has jetted out of the country five times.
In January alone, the President travelled out of the country four times, meaning that he travelled almost every week.
The President started his foreign trips for the year on January 7, when he travelled to Accra, Ghana to attend the inauguration of the country’s President, John Mahama.
On January 18, Jonathan again jetted out of the country to Cote D’Ivoire where he attended an extraordinary summit of the Economic Community of West African States.
Three days after, the President left the shores of the country to attend a summit of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He was also in Geneva briefly during this period.
While he returned to the country on January 24, Jonathan again left for Ethiopia on January 26 to take part in the summit of the African Union’s Heads of State and Government.
The President travelled out of the country last Tuesday evening for a trip that will take him to three countries: the United Kingdom, France and Egypt.
Efforts to get the exact amount spent on the President’s foreign travels this year did not yield result, but a presidency source said over N50m might have been spent on each trip.
She said, “Anytime the President is travelling, whether foreign or local, three teams are involved.
“The first team will go there for feasibility studies. The team comprises representatives of each of the departments that will be involved in the visit.
‘‘They are expected to inspect everywhere the President will visit in the country and liaise with the authorities there while they arrange for accommodation for the delegation.
“The second team is called the advance team. These are people who will carry out some activities and make preparations for the President’s arrival. They are security men, officials of the protocol unit, the media, among others.
“The third team is the main team which comprises the President, his wife (where applicable) and top presidential aides.”
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Source: Punch
