- N5.1bn Spent On Refreshments For Guests; N34.63bn Spent On Local, Foreign Travel Expenses
By Abiola Olawale
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State, and 26 other state governors collectively spent approximately N986.64bn on recurrent expenditures, latest report revealed.
The information is contained in the states’ budget implementation reports, which were obtained from Open Nigerian States.
According to the report, a total of 30 state governments reportedly spent N986.64bn on recurrent expenditures, including refreshments, sitting allowances, travelling, utilities, etc., between January and March 2024.
In the report, only statistics for 30 states were available, while the data for six states was not available.
Benue, Imo, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto and Yobe States were the ones without Q1 2024 data.
The analysis of the report indicates that out of the total of N986.64bn allocated to recurrent expenditure, N5.1bn was spent on refreshments for guests, N4.67bn on sitting allowances for government officials, N34.63bn on local and foreign travel expenses, and N5.64bn on utility bills.
The general utilities include electricity, internet, telephone charges, water rates, and sewerage charges, among others.
Other recurrent spending items covered in the report include the amount spent on foreign and domestic travels, Internet access fees, entertainment, foodstuff, honorarium/sitting allowance, wardrobe allowances, telephone bills, electricity charges, stationery, anniversaries/special days, welfare, aircraft maintenance, and more.
Further breakdown of the report showed that in the first three months of 2024, Abia State spent N10.92bn on its recurrent expenditures.
Otti reportedly spent N165.38m on refreshments and feeding, N39.26m on utilities, N214.57m on sitting allowances, and N127.1m on local and foreign travels, among miscellaneous expenses.
In Adamawa State, a total of N23.7bn was reportedly expended on recurrent expenditures.
Governor Fintri was reported to have spent N287.61m on refreshments and feeding, N109.62m on utilities, N79.57m on sitting allowances, and N768.77m on local and foreign travels.
In Akwa Ibom State, the government reportedly spent N46.85bn, which included N4.46m on refreshments and feeding, N223.32m on utilities, N6m on sitting allowances, N214.61m on local and foreign travels.
Anambra State disbursed N9.91bn for recurring expenses with N78.18m on refreshments and feeding, N32.52m on utilities, N42.09m on sitting allowances, N188.39m on local and foreign travels.
Also, recurrent expenditure cost Bauchi State Government N35.75bn with N397.58m going to utilities, N50.8m on refreshments, N287.11m on allowances, and N413.56m on trips.
Bayelsa State spent N35.1bn on recurrent expenditures, comprising N28.4m on utilities, N156.14m on refreshments and N279.99m on trips.
According to the report, Sanwo-Olu reportedly approved the payment of N189.62bn for recurrent expenditures, including N1.21m for refreshments, N383.12m for utilities, sitting allowances costing N52.79m and N633.37m on travels.
Borno spent N18.79bn, Cross River (N17.44bn), Delta (N68.68bn), Ebonyi (N14.95bn), Edo (N32.32bn), Ekiti (N32.8bn), Enugu (N7.51bn) and Gombe with N20.89bn.
Within the same period, Jigawa State spent N15.52bn on recurrent expenditure, Kaduna expended N34.69bn, Kano (N34.41bn), Katsina (N21.87bn), Kebbi (N11.67bn), Kogi (N37.4bn), Kwara (N24.34bn), Nasarawa (N18.61bn), Ogun (N47.12bn), Ondo (N31.12bn), Osun (N24.39bn), Oyo (N40.12bn), Plateau (N24.70bn), Zamfara (N13.46bn), and Taraba (N20.93bn).
