Amid the #EndBadGovernance protests from August 1 to 10, which aimed to address widespread dissatisfaction with government policies, the Nigerian House of Representatives made a symbolic pledge to reduce their salaries by half for six months.
This measure, intended to demonstrate the government’s commitment to cutting costs, would have saved approximately N108 million in July alone.
However, it was later revealed that lawmakers did not follow through with this pledge.
Instead, data from the Govspend portal reveals that the presidency made substantial expenditures during the same period. Between July 13 and 26, the State House and the Office of the President disbursed a total of N684,148,266. This sum includes N171 million in honorariums, N500 million for presidential trips, and N13 million for President Bola Tinubu’s salary for July.
Here is the breakdown of spending;
Honorariums
The largest single expense detailed is the payment of honorariums. On July 13, 2024, the State House Headquarters made five payments into its transit account, totaling N90 million. These payments were categorized as ‘Payment for presidential honorarium for the month of June 2024.’ The amounts were N9,840,600, N15,429,800, N10,290,000, N49,795,400, and N5,346,500.
Subsequently, the Office of the President made four additional payments on July 15, 2024, amounting to N61.5 million, also for honorariums. These payments included N17,779,500, N25,306,000, N12,393,500, and N5,845,900. Furthermore, on July 16, the Vice President’s office contributed N19 million towards honorariums, with payments of N12,006,900 and N7,060,700.
In total, the honorarium payments amounted to N171 million, highlighting a substantial allocation towards this category, despite ongoing public appeals for financial restraint.
Presidential Trips
The presidency also incurred significant costs related to presidential trips. On July 13, 2024, the State House made a payment of N350 million into the transit account, described as ‘Payment for presidential trips and other related expenses.’ This was followed by two additional payments on July 19, totaling N150 million—N48 million and N102 million, respectively. The total expenditure for presidential trips reached N500 million.
This expenditure is particularly striking given the context of nationwide protests demanding reduced government spending and increased financial transparency. The large sums allocated for travel have been seen by critics as indicative of the administration’s disconnect from the economic realities faced by ordinary Nigerians.
Presidential Salary
President Bola Tinubu’s salary for July was recorded as N13,053,466.37, paid by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on July 26. While this figure represents a relatively modest portion of the overall spending, it has still been highlighted in the context of the broader financial outlays and public expectations for cost-cutting.
Democracy Day Expenses
Additional expenditures were directed towards the Democracy Day celebrations on June 12. The State House spent N85,369,224 on renting the Continental Hotel in Abuja and decorating various venues. This included N16,969,224.48 paid to Capital Hotels PLC for the use of the Abuja Continental Hotel and N68,400,000 for decorations by Rock of Ages Total Events Centre.
The revelations come at a time when a survey by the Africa Polling Institute (API) reported that 84% of Nigerians were dissatisfied with President Tinubu’s leadership. The survey highlighted widespread concern that the country was heading in the wrong direction. These sentiments were further expressed through the nationwide protests, which sought to address issues of governance, economic management, and transparency.
