The state governments of Kwara, Kano, and Borno have spent a staggering N4,945,021,969.44 on international travels and transport in the first nine months of 2024, according to the three states’ Budget Performance 2024 Third Quarter Reports reviewed by SaharaReporters. Shockingly, despite these massive expenditures, none of these states have recorded any foreign investments.
Kwara State, led by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, spent N1,975,244,982.00 on travel to various foreign nations between January and September 2024, with no record of foreign investment in the state. Similarly, the Babagana Zulum-led administration in Borno State spent N1,273,195,072.20 on ‘INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL & TRANSPORT: OTHERS’ and N205,983,330.45 on ‘INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL & TRANSPORT: TRAINING’ during the same period. In Kano State, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf spent N1,064,570,891.79 on ‘INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL & TRANSPORT: TRAINING’ and N426,027,693.00 on ‘INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL & TRANSPORT: OTHERS’ between January and September 2024.
These massive expenditures on international travels have not yielded any tangible benefits, as none of these states have attracted any foreign investments. This is particularly concerning given the high rate of out-of-school children in these northern states.
A recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for the third quarter of 2024 revealed that 32 out of 36 states and the FCT attracted zero capital importation (foreign investment) in the first nine months of 2024. Nigeria’s total Capital Importation for the third quarter of 2024 declined by 51.90% from the previous quarter, falling to $1.25 billion.
