Source: http://wdn.com.ng/editorial-amount-money-spent-buharis-foreign-trips/

It might shock you to observe that President Muhammadu Buhari, who is well known for his life of austerity, has spent about N5.2 billion on foreign trips since he assumed office 11 months ago.

A reliable report has revealed that President Buhari has made a total of 26 foreign trips since May 29, 2015 when he took the oath of office, which implies that Mr. President has so far spent 50 days outside Nigeria.
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Some analysts have opined that President Buhari’s foreign trips are in the interest of the country not just a junket, adding that Nigeria has reclaimed its position among the comity of nations ever since PMB came to power.

Whereas, other pundits have taken a heavy swipe at PMB’s frequent international trips, decrying these foreign trips as sheer junket and President Buhari wants to optimize the use of this ample opportunity to tour the world round before the end of his tenure.

These same pundits further lampooned Mr. President, alleging that PMB is the Nigerian President; at the same time the Foreign Affairs Minister and the Petroleum Minister. They have condemned the N5.2 billion spent so far on foreign trips as outrageous and a broad daylight robbery.

In comparison, findings have shown that former President Goodluck Jonathan spent N3.354 billion on foreign trips in two years (2010- 2012) and 2012 recorded his highest number of foreign trips, when he jetted out of the country 20 times. President Buhari has jetted out of the country 26 times within 11 months, gulping a whooping sum of N5.2 billion from the country’s coffers, in time of cash crunch.

Meanwhile, President Buhari’s first official trip after he became President of the country started with a one day trip to Niger on June 3, 2015, where he held talks with President Mahamadou Issoufou on security issues affecting the sub-region including how to curb the activities of Boko Haram.

EDITORIAL: Amount of money spent on Buhari’s foreign trips/wdn.com.ng
EDITORIAL: Amount of money spent on Buhari’s foreign trips/wdn.com.ng

On June 4, Buhari headed for Chad to hold talks with his Chadian counterpart, Idris Deby, as Nigeria and neighbouring countries discussed ways of finding lasting solutions to the lingering Boko Haram insurgency.

Two days after his trip from Niger and Chad, Mr. President left Abuja for Germany to attend the G-7 meeting, accompanied by a 20-man delegation including former Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Dambazau (ret.), his personal photographer, Bayo Omoboriowo, and his cook.

He went to South Africa on June 15, to attend the African Union (AU) summit and on July 19, President Buhari left Abuja for the USA with a 33-man delegation on the invitation of President Barrack Obama of the United States.

He visited the US again in September for the UN General Assembly with a 22-man delegation after celebrating the Eid in his home town in Daura.

On August 1, President Buhari paid a one-day visit to Benin Republic with a sole agenda of discussing ways of extending the fight against Boko Haram insurgency.

On September 7, Buhari was in Ghana after which he left for France on September 14, on a three-day official visit following an invitation from his French counterpart Francois Hollande.
On October 27, he left Abuja for New Delhi, India, to take part in the 3rd Summit of the India-Africa Forum.

On November 22, he was in Tehran, Iran, to participate in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) summit. He has since also visited Dubai in United Arab Emirate, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United States for the Nuclear Summit.

He just came back from Beijing, China, where he reportedly went to seek for loan to fund the 2016 budget.

The weighty poser is; how have Nigerians benefitted from PMB’s numerous foreign trips?

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