ICIR Nigeria
President Muhammadu Buhari has gone on sixteen trips out of the country since January 2022.
Out of the sixteen trips he made abroad this year, two were for medical vacations in London, totalling twenty-eight days, which has become customary for Buhari since he was elected president in 2015.
The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, frequently defended Buhari’s international medical journeys by claiming that he “has used the same medical team for about 40 years.”
Adesina also made the case that it is advisable President stick with the team that was familiar with his medical history.
It is unknown how much the President has spent on medical examinations, but over the past eight years, the Buhari administration has set aside at least N33.3 billion for the State House’s medical infrastructure.
This covers both ongoing expenses like “the purchase of health/medical equipment, drugs, and medical supplies” and capital projects like the building of the State House Medical Centre’s presidential wing, which is expected to be finished this year.
According to budget documents for the time period under review, the State House Medical Centre took in N8.35 billion, while the presidential wing gulped N24.24 billion. General medical expenses totalled N308.26 million.
Meanwhile, the President’s latest travel is to Washington, United States, alongside other African leaders at the United States-Africa Leaders’ Summit.
He departed Nigeria on Sunday, 11 December, for a high-level meeting at the instance of United States President Joe Biden, who seeks more pragmatic ways to foster new economic engagement and work with African governments to advance peace, security, and good governance.
He returned on Sunday, December 18.
The President’s budget for his foreign travels in 2022 was N1.5 billion, N200 million less than the N1.7 billion budgeted for his international journeys in 2021.
Buhari has spent more than 60 days outside Nigeria this year alone.
Buhari’s travel destinations within this period include; Ethiopia, Belgium, Gambia, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, France, Kenya, Portugal, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United States of America (USA), Turkiye, The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and The United Kingdom (UK).
