2014 budget: Jonathan may not reduce foreign trips

There are indications that the budget for the President’s foreign trips for 2014 will increase sharply.

This will be contrary to the promise made by the President on the heels of the protest that trailed the fuel subsidy removal in 2012 that his foreign trips would be reduced drastically in 2014.

In 2012, N684.74m was budgeted for Jonathan’s foreign travels while N1.289billion was earmarked for the same purpose in 2013.

“I have directed that overseas travels by all political office-holders, including the President, should be reduced to the barest minimum. The size of delegations on foreign trips will also be drastically reduced; only trips that are absolutely necessary will be approved,” the President had said.

But checks by our correspondent showed that as of press time, Jonathan had jetted out of the country a record 21 times this year.

In all, the President had visited about 19 countries this year alone.

Purposes of such visits ranged from state visits to international summits.

With the frequency at which he has so far travelled this year, it is in doubt whether the President had fulfilled his promise to Nigerians.

In January alone, the President travelled out four times. He attended the inauguration of President John Mahama of Ghana; summit of the Economic Community of West African States in Cote D’ivoire; summit of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland; and summit of the African Union in Ethiopia.

Jonathan travelled abroad three times in February. In one of such trips, he criss-crossed the United Kingdom, France and Egypt. He later went to Equatorial Guinea for the summit of Heads of State and Government of Africa and South America; as well as Cote d’Ivoire for the 42nd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

In March, Jonathan was in Equatorial Guinea on a two-day state visit while he travelled to Kenya in April for the  inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

In May, he was in South Africa for the World Economic Forum on Africa and state visit as well as Ethiopia for the 50th anniversary of OAU/AU.

He was in Cameroun in June  for the summit of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of Central African States, and the Gulf of Guinea Commission.

In October, the President attended an Extraordinary Session of the African Union’s Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Ethiopia and embarked on a one-week Christian pilgrimage and state visit to Israel.

Efforts to get the amount so far spent on the trips, however, did not yield positive result.

The expenses incurred, our correspondent, however, learnt, included airfares for members of the President’s delegation, who travelled on commercial flights, cost of procuring travel visas for them, estacodes for members of the delegation, and fuelling of the presidential jets, among others.

Punch