Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has made headlines with her office’s expenditure. According to GovSpend, a government expenditure tracking platform, the office of Nigeria’s First Lady has spent more than ₦1 billion within the first seven months of her husband’s administration on seemingly “important” expenses. These expenses include foreign travel, vehicles, venue decoration, multimedia services, and “programs.” Let’s look at a breakdown of reported expenses.
The First Lady’s vehicles, decorations, and programmes
Recall that in 2023, the Federal Government allocated ₦1.5 billion for the procurement of vehicles for the Office of the First Lady. This allocation was outlined in the ₦2.1 trillion supplementary budget for 2023, which the National Assembly approved.
On May 24, 2024, Rock of Ages Total Events Centre Ltd received the sum of ₦131,921,786 for full-scale decoration of State House events for the First Lady’s programmes for women, youth, and children.
That same day, the State House paid ₦107,630,000 to Makeway Nigeria Limited for the provision of multimedia, and related services during the First Lady’s programmes for women, youth, and children.
The government also spent a total of ₦314,231,472 on six First Lady programmes within four months.
The “important” trips
In three months, the Federal Government spent approximately ₦701 million to fund the country’s First Lady’s foreign trips to Mozambique, Ethiopia, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
On November 17, 2023, the government, through the State House headquarters transit account, released the sum of ₦77,659,888 for the purchase of foreign exchange ($94,314) for the First Lady’s trip to the United States.
The government, through the State House headquarters transit account, reimbursed the sum of ₦149,794,284 on February 24, 2024, for the purchase of foreign exchange ($152,831) for the First Lady’s trip to France on January 4, 2024.
On March 15, 2024, the sum of ₦202,386,198 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 ₦144,571,785 for the purchase of foreign exchange ($96,118) for the First Lady’s trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 9, 2024.
Through the same State House account, the government paid out the sum of ₦126,295,377 for the purchase of foreign exchange ($83,967) for the First Lady’s trip to London that month.
The First Lady, the first gardener
In July, 2024, the First Lady unveiled a vegetable garden in the State House as her contribution to the nation’s food drive, and pledged to be “a good example” in the country.
“This little garden will be able to provide healthy vegetables enough for my household, and I would definitely be able to let some of my staff have as well. The solution to any problem lies in everyone contributing their own quota to getting that solution. As a leader, I must show example and plant my own garden,” she added.
Unveiling the national aso-ebi
There’s something unsettling about the unveiling of Nigeria’s new national Aso Ebi, a fabric meant to symbolise unity, when the very fabric of the nation feels worn and torn. The First Lady presented the #OneNigeriaUnityFabric as Nigeria’s national uniform to be worn on Independence Day on October 1st, as a celebration of our rich cultural diversity.
On paper, the idea of a national fabric sounds like a celebration of identity—an emblem of Nigeria’s diverse culture worn proudly across the country. Still, it’s hard to ignore the glaring disconnect between this well-meaning project and the stark realities faced by everyday Nigerians.
At its core, Aso Ebi has always symbolised joy, togetherness, and cultural pride. But right now, many Nigerians are struggling to find anything to celebrate. With food prices soaring, unemployment and bigotry rising, and economic hardship tightening its grip on the country, unveiling a national fabric feels like a tone-deaf gesture from leaders so out of touch with their people’s realities.
As citizens battle rising costs, hunger, and economic despair, how are they supposed to afford this national Asoebi? We also can’t help but wonder—can a piece of cloth unite a nation struggling to stay afloat, or is this just another initiative to waste money?
Reactions to Remi Tinubu’s expenditure
Reacting to reports on the First Lady’s expenses, the Director of the Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekper, explained that no law in the country 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 recognised 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.”
Nigerians have also weighed in on the matter below:
Given these findings, perhaps we should consider handing over the ministry of finance—maybe even Nigeria as a bonus—to the First Lady. She seems to do a better job of accounting for money spent in her office, which is an improvement on the usual “unaccounted for” and “missing” tags Nigerians have become accustomed to. She might run us down, but at least we would know exactly where and how finances were spent.
#LongLivetheofficeoftheFirstLady
