The budget allocations for food and catering supplies for the offices of the Nigerian President, Vice-President, and State House headquarters have increased by 20 per cent between 2022 and 2024. While the budget remained at N702.95 million for both 2022 and 2023, it rose to N845.07 million in 2024.
Over the three-year period, the President’s office allocated a total of N856.57 million, while N650.84 million was set aside for the Vice-President’s office. The State House headquarters earmarked N743.55 million for the same period.
On November 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu presented the 2024 appropriations bill to a joint session of the 10th National Assembly. He later signed the N28.7 trillion budget into law on January 1, 2024, after the Senate’s approval, which increased the budget by N1.2 trillion from his original proposal of N27.5 trillion.
A breakdown of the food and catering budget reveals that N245.14 million was allocated to the State House administration, N301.14 million to the President’s office, and N156.66 million to the Vice-President’s office for both 2022 and 2023. In 2024, the allocations increased to N253.27 million for the State House headquarters, N254.27 million for the President’s office, and N337.52 million for the Vice-President’s office.
According to GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks government spending, the State House disbursed approximately N566.22 million on food supplies, including rice, between March and September 2024. This included payments of N275.63 million to Samdan Global Construction and Resources Limited for the supply of 1,095 bags of 50kg rice and 4,095 cartons of seasoning cubes, and N280.59 million to Victor Adeks Nigeria Limited for an additional 3,000 bags of rice.
During an October 8, 2024 presentation, the Permanent Secretary of the State House, Olufunso Adebiyi, reported a 43 per cent implementation of capital projects and 99 per cent for overhead expenditure for the year. He welcomed the increased budgetary allocation for 2024, highlighting the demand for resources due to various capital projects, including renovations, digitalisation efforts, and vehicle replacements.
Adebiyi also disclosed that in 2023, N1.65 billion was allocated for personnel costs, all of which was spent, while N8.29 billion was budgeted for overheads, with N8.27 billion expended—representing a 99.82 per cent implementation. Capital expenditure saw a 98 per cent performance, with N10.9 billion spent out of the N11.2 billion budgeted.
Debo Adeniran, Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, has urged for stricter regulations on government spending to align with Nigeria’s challenging economic conditions, citing the need for a constitutional overhaul to prevent government excesses.
Meanwhile, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, clarified that these budgetary provisions are not solely for the President and Vice-President but also cover state events, meetings, and visits from foreign dignitaries. Ajayi argued that the figures include hosting of VIPs, Heads of State, and other official functions.