The Commission’s foreign-travel expenditure exceeded its 2024 budget by ₦626.8 million, according to figures reviewed by Politics Nigeria.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recorded a combined expenditure of ₦4,670,296,000 on foreign and local transport and travel in the 2024 financial year, Politics Nigeria reports.
The amount comprises ₦3,597,540,000 spent on foreign transport and travel and ₦1,072,756,000 on local transport and travel, according to figures obtained by the newspaper.
The spending took place under the leadership of Aminu Maida, who was appointed Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC by President Bola Tinubu in October 2023. The figures relate to the Commission’s expenditure; they do not, on their own, establish how much was spent on any individual official or identify who travelled.
The NCC budgeted ₦2,970,730,000 for foreign transport and travel in 2024. Its actual expenditure of ₦3,597,540,000 was ₦626,810,000 above that allocation. The figures reviewed by Politics Nigeria show that local transport and travel accounted for a further ₦1,072,756,000. The Commission’s local-travel budget was not provided in the information reviewed.
The expenditure records do not specify the number of officials who travelled, their destinations, the duration or purpose of each trip, or whether any travel costs were later reimbursed. Those details are relevant to assessing how the funds were used and whether the spending delivered value for money.
What the NCC does
The NCC is the statutory regulator of Nigeria’s communications sector. Its responsibilities include licensing and regulating communications operators, managing the radio-frequency spectrum and promoting fair competition in the industry.
The Commission is also responsible for protecting the interests of telecommunications consumers, including monitoring service quality and addressing complaints. Its broader mandate includes supporting the development of communications services and expanding access to them across the country.
The scale of the travel expenditure therefore raises questions about the purpose and outcomes of the trips, as well as the Commission’s internal procedures for approving and accounting for official travel. The figures alone, however, do not establish whether the spending was improper.
The expenditure comes amid continuing pressure on household finances, with many Nigerians facing high food, transport and healthcare costs. The Federal Government has also continued to borrow to finance budget deficits.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) reported that Nigeria’s total public debt was approximately ₦144.7 trillion as of December 31, 2024, up from ₦87.38 trillion as of June 30, 2023. The DMO’s latest figures cited in the report put public debt at ₦166.79 trillion, or about $120.93 billion, as of June 30, 2026.
Last week, President Tinubu sought Senate approval for a new external borrowing plan of $7.707 billion—equivalent to approximately ₦10.79 trillion—to help finance the Federal Government’s 2026 budget deficit.
The request was conveyed in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on November 4, 2026. It replaced an earlier proposal for external borrowing of $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion and was referred to the relevant Senate committees for consideration.
As part of its investigation into public spending by Federal Government agencies, Politics Nigeria contacted Nnenna Ukoha, the NCC’s Head of Public Affairs, for comment.
The newspaper requested a breakdown of the foreign and domestic trips, including their purposes, destinations, the number of officials involved and the measures used to ensure accountability for the expenditure. Ukoha had not responded by the time of publication.
Editorial note: Confirm the publication date and all 2026 references before publication.
