Nigeria, June 5 -- The Nigerian federal government collectively spent more than N23 billion on foreign exchange for the President, Vice President, First Lady, and other senior executive officers during foreign travels in 2024.

The amount, revealed by GovSpend, a portal operated by BudgIT to track public spending, is a whopping 23 percent higher than the N18.63 billion expended in 2023.

The rise in spending is due to the volume and size of foreign trips undertaken by the Presidency. The journeys, officials say, are unavoidable as part of an attempt to solidify Nigeria's foreign diplomacy. However, the missions continue to be costly as the naira depreciates against all other global currencies, making foreign exchange increasingly costly f...