Thirty-three states spent N420.01bn on executive offices and N92.09bn on travel in six months, dwarfing the basic pay of Nigeria’s 36 governors
Thirty-three Nigerian state governments spent at least N512.10bn on Government Houses, Governors’ Offices and travel and transport during the first six months of 2026, a striking expenditure gap that has renewed questions about the broader cost of running the country’s state executive offices.
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The figure, drawn from available first and second-quarter budget implementation reports, is about 4,713 times the combined six-month basic salary of Nigeria’s 36 governors, whose stated monthly salary of N503,000 would amount to N108.65m collectively over the same period.
The analysis found that N420.01bn was spent under Government House, Governor’s Office and related executive administration heads, while a further N92.09bn went to travel and transport.
The figures do not represent governors’ personal income. Rather, the executive expenditure covers a broad range of public costs associated with running Government Houses and official offices, including administration, personnel, protocol, maintenance, utilities, official residences, security-related activities and state functions.
Travel and transport similarly encompasses official journeys and transportation-related expenditure across the wider state public service, rather than governors’ personal travel alone.
That distinction is important as public attention continues to focus on the recent disclosure by Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori that his monthly salary is N503,000, below the N900,000 earned by Permanent Secretaries in the state.
Oborevwori made the disclosure in Asaba on August 20 during the inauguration of 12 four-bedroom terraced duplexes for Permanent Secretaries and the presentation of official vehicles to 12 newly appointed officials. (Punch Newspapers)
“When the Permanent Secretaries said most of the Directors are receiving almost the same thing with them, we increased their money.
Today, Permanent Secretaries, your salary is N900,000; my salary is N503,000, Governor’s salary,” Oborevwori said. (Vanguard News)
The governor also said Delta’s Head of Service earns N1m monthly. He used the comparison to highlight the relatively modest basic salary attached to the office of governor.
But the wider spending figures show why a discussion centred solely on basic salary offers only part of the picture.
A governor’s N503,000 monthly salary amounts to N6.036m annually. For all 36 governors, the combined annual basic salary would therefore be N217.30m, before allowances and other approved benefits attached to their offices.
Against this backdrop, the N512.10bn identified in the six-month expenditure records illustrates the much larger fiscal structure surrounding state executive administration.
Development economist Aliyu Ilias said focusing only on the basic salary of governors could give a misleading impression of the cost associated with political office.
“Ordinarily, anything that has to do with executive office in Nigeria appears to be much more expensive because they actually direct how it works there,” Ilias said.
He argued that the cost of maintaining political offices was part of a broader problem of expensive governance.
“So, it is not correct to say that a Permanent Secretary is earning better than a governor when you isolate the governor’s salary without adding the other travel perks and expenses attached to the office,” he said.
The available 2026 records also reveal considerable differences between states.
Kogi recorded the highest identifiable Government House and Governor’s Office expenditure at N65.34bn, followed by Ogun with N45.26bn and Lagos with N45.04bn.
Kano recorded N25.87bn, while Ekiti spent N25.22bn and Cross River recorded N23.92bn.
Bayelsa recorded N22.99bn, Imo N19.43bn and Enugu N16.20bn.
At the lower end of the available figures, Oyo recorded about N1.95bn, followed by Sokoto with N2.20bn, Kwara with N2.59bn and Abia with N2.78bn.
Kogi’s N65.34bn alone accounted for more than 15 per cent of the identifiable Government House and Governor’s Office spending captured in the dataset.
Travel and transport spending produced another wide spread.
Plateau recorded the highest identifiable expenditure at N10.11bn in the first six months of 2026, followed by Lagos with N8.23bn and Taraba with N5.16bn.
Niger recorded N4.45bn, Ekiti N4.41bn, Bauchi N3.75bn and Yobe N3.68bn.
Oyo recorded about N667.52m, while Kano’s identifiable spending stood at N626.95m.
Compared with the corresponding period of 2025, the available figures suggest that spending under the examined executive and travel heads declined overall.
Government House, Governor’s Office and similar executive administration expenditure fell from N465.07bn in the first half of 2025 to N420.01bn in the first half of 2026, a reduction of N45.06bn, or about 9.69 per cent.
Travel and transport spending changed only marginally, falling from N92.73bn to N92.09bn, a decline of approximately N643.66m, or 0.69 per cent.
Taken together, the identified expenditure fell from N557.80bn in the first half of 2025 to N512.10bn in the corresponding period of 2026, a reduction of about N45.70bn, or 8.19 per cent.
The movement was not uniform across the states.
Kogi’s Government House and Governor’s Office spending rose from N51.99bn in the first half of 2025 to N65.34bn in 2026, an increase of about N13.35bn, or 25.67 per cent.
Bayelsa recorded an increase from N14.48bn to N22.99bn, representing a rise of about N8.51bn, or 58.77 per cent.
Cross River recorded one of the sharpest increases, moving from N9.91bn to N23.92bn, an increase of about N14.01bn, or 141.37 per cent.
Lagos also recorded a substantial rise, from N25.86bn in 2025 to N45.04bn in 2026, an increase of about N19.18bn, or 74.17 per cent.
Ogun, by contrast, recorded a decline from N49.83bn to N45.26bn, representing a reduction of about N4.57bn, or 9.17 per cent.
Kano’s spending fell from N28.84bn to N25.87bn, a decline of about N2.97bn, or 10.30 per cent.
The analysis covers 33 states for which sufficiently comparable figures were available. Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara had the relevant records, while comparable data were unavailable for Edo, Osun and Rivers.
The figures should therefore not be interpreted as a complete accounting of every naira spent on governors or their offices across the federation.
Differences in budget classifications and the availability of implementation reports also mean that individual state figures may not be directly comparable in every case.
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission is constitutionally responsible for determining the remuneration of governors and other political office holders.
The commission has also been reviewing remuneration for political office holders, with proposed changes expected to go through the legislative process.
The spending debate comes as states continue to benefit from stronger Federation Account revenues following major economic reforms.
Higher allocations have increased the resources available to state governments while simultaneously intensifying demands for greater transparency over how those funds are deployed.
For ordinary Nigerians, the central issue is therefore larger than whether a governor earns N503,000 or whether a Permanent Secretary receives N900,000.
The more revealing question is the total public cost of maintaining the office, its supporting administrative machinery, official residences, security, protocol and travel.
The N512.10bn identified in six months offers a powerful illustration of that distinction.
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While the personal salary attached to the office may appear relatively modest, the machinery surrounding state executive power carries a far more substantial price tag for taxpayers.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
