A report by the Punch Newspaper has revealed that Billions of Nigerian taxpayers’ money have been spent on the foreign trips of President Goodluck Jonathan despite his January promise to cut down on such trips. The newspaper’s findings show that the President and his entourage have spent not less than N3.354bn on foreign trips since 2010.
According to the report, in the first 11 months of 2012, the President had travelled out of the country at least 20 times, including his trip to Sierra Leone in October and the D8 Summit he attended in Pakistan in November. In September alone, Jonathan travelled out of the country four times. He travelled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a two-day visit on September 1 for the burial of late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
Nine days later, he went to Malawi and Botswana in a cumulative three-day visit for enhancement of bilateral relationships. The President ended the month of September with another trip to New York, United States for the United Nations General Assembly.
From February, 2010 when he became the Acting President to December 2010 alone, Jonathan spent N970.891m on foreign travels. Although the 2011 budget was silent on the expenses for the President foreign travels, investigations showed that about N1.7bn was spent on foreign trips. According to the 2011 budget, N1.145bn was budgeted for Vice-President Namadi Sambo’s foreign trips. In 2012, N684.74m was budgeted for Jonathan’s foreign travels and he had travelled out of the country 19 times.
Source: Punch
WHO CAN NIGERIANS NOW TRUST AMONG OUR LEADERS ??? AS THEY ARE ALL BIRDS OF SAME FEATHERS & VERY SHAMEFUL IF GHANA IS WELL RESPECTED & RECOGNISED WORLD-WIDE, WHEN NAME OF NIGERIA AS A COUNTRY DO NOT APPEAR, BUT INSTEAD OF MOVING THE COUNTRY FORWARD, THEY ARE ALL AFTER OUR NATIONAL-CAKE, WHILE CITIZEN ARE SUFFERING & MAJORITY DO NO’T KNOW WHAT TO EAT DURING XMAS PERIOD, WHILE SOME ILL-DISPOSED POLITICIANS WIVES WERE CAUGHT CARRYING THOUSAND OF POUNDS [££££££££] SOME [£300,000] & SOME ARE EVEN OVER. HOWEVER, PRESIDENT JONATHAN HAS DISAPPOINTED MOST OF HIS FANS INCLUDING ME AS HE MOSTLY SHOW BLIND EYES & EARS TO ISSUES WITH HIS EXECUTIVE POWER. IT IS BETTER BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE TO FULFILLED HIS PROMISES ON ELECTRICITY IN NIGERIA, & BOKO-HARAM’s ISSUE SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY, PARTICULARLY THIS FESTIVE PERIOD & ALSO IN ADDITION, EVEN IF I KNEW THAT, IT MIGHT BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR HIS EXCELLENCY TO STOP THE USUAL ACT OF SHEARING OUR NATIONAL MONEY WITHIN THOSE IN POWER, I STILL ADVICE HIS EXCELLENCY TO REDUCE THIS ACT, IF NOT TOTALLY STOPPED. [Nigerian majority needs a true & genuine leader, who’s ready to sacrifice his life for the future Generation & not those after National money]. “A word is enough for the Wise, but do well your time”.