States Spend N512bn in 6 Months on Government Houses and Travel

By Victor Idajili

Thirty-three state governments spent at least N512.10 billion in the first half of 2026 on Government Houses, Governors’ Offices, and travel, according to an analysis of budget implementation reports.

That figure is about 4,713 times the combined six-month salary of all 36 governors.

A governor’s official monthly salary is put at N503,000. Over six months that’s N3.018 million per governor, or N108.65 million for all 36. The N512.10 billion spent by states represents just 0.02% of that total.

The breakdown shows N420.01 billion went to Government House, Governor’s Office and related executive administration costs. Another N92.09 billion was spent on travel and transport.

  
The numbers come amid public debate over governors’ pay. Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, recently said his monthly salary was N503,000, noting that some permanent secretaries earn up to N900,000 monthly.

But the analysis shows the governor’s salary is only a small part of what it costs to run the office. Government House budgets cover staff, protocol, maintenance, utilities, security, official residences, and state functions. Travel budgets cover local and foreign trips for the governor and other state officials.

So while the basic pay may look modest, the overall cost of maintaining the executive office runs into hundreds of billions.

 
The analysis used Budget Implementation Reports for Q1 and Q2 2026. States with complete data include 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. Data for Edo, Osun and Rivers was not available.

For comparison, in the first half of 2025, states spent N465.07 billion on Government House and executive administration, and N92.73 billion on travel. That’s a combined N557.80 billion.

That means spending in 2026 dropped by about N45.70 billion, or 8.19%.

Government House spending fell the most from N465.07 billion in 2025 to N420.01 billion in 2026, a drop of N45.05 billion or 9.69%. Travel spending was almost flat, dipping slightly from N92.73 billion to N92.09 billion.

 
Kogi had the highest Government House/Governor’s Office spending at N65.34 billion, followed by Ogun with N45.26 billion and Lagos with N45.04 billion.  
Kano spent N25.87 billion, Ekiti N25.22 billion, and Cross River N23.92 billion.  
On the lower end, Oyo spent about N1.95 billion, Sokoto N2.20 billion, Kwara N2.59 billion and Abia N2.78 billion.

For travel, Plateau led with N10.11 billion. Lagos followed with N8.23 billion, then Taraba with N5.16 billion. Niger spent N4.45 billion and Ekiti N4.41 billion. Oyo recorded the lowest at N667.52 million.

Some states saw big jumps. Lagos spending rose 74.16% to N45.04 billion. Cross River more than doubled to N23.92 billion. Bayelsa rose 58.75% to N22.99 billion. Kogi went up 25.66% to N65.34 billion.  
Others cut back. Ogun dropped 9.17% to N45.26 billion. Kano fell 10.32% to N25.87 billion.

Development economist Aliyu Ilias said focusing only on salary misses the point.

“Anything that has to do with executive office in Nigeria appears to be much more expensive because they actually direct how it works there. With the docile state assemblies we have, it is clear that our democracy is very expensive because of the way we maintain their offices, and that is why it is very juicy,” he said.  
“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.”

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission sets pay for governors and other political office holders. RMAFC says a review of remuneration is at an advanced stage and a bill may soon go to the National Assembly.

The spending also comes as states are receiving much larger allocations from the Federation Account after federal economic reforms. Data shows N47.25 trillion was shared between 2023 and 2025 alone — more than half of what was shared in the previous nine years.

With more money coming in, public scrutiny is growing over whether states are using it for infrastructure and services, or for running government offices.

In short, while a governor’s paycheck may seem small, the cost of keeping the office running is huge. The real question is not just what governors earn, but what taxpayers spend to maintain the entire structure around them.