At least 33 state governments spent a combined N512.10bn on Government Houses, Governors’ Offices and travel and transport during the first half of 2026, according to an analysis of state budget implementation reports.
The amount is approximately 4,713 times the combined six-month salaries of Nigeria’s 36 governors, according to The PUNCH.
The analysis found that a governor’s official monthly salary of N503,000 amounts to N3.018m over six months. For all 36 governors, the total six-month salary comes to just N108.65m.
Available records showed that N420.01bn was allocated to Government House, Governor’s Office and related executive administration expenditure, while an additional N92.09bn was recorded under travel and transport.
Together, the two expenditure categories amounted to N512.10bn. By comparison, the six-month salaries of the 36 governors accounted for only 0.02 per cent of the identified spending on executive offices and travel.
The figures highlight a significant disparity between the official salaries of governors and the broader public expenditure associated with maintaining their offices.
Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, recently disclosed that he earns N503,000 monthly, noting that some senior civil servants, including permanent secretaries, receive N900,000 a month, which is higher than the salary of a state governor.
However, an assessment of spending on the offices occupied by governors indicates that their personal salaries make up only a small portion of the wider expenditure and benefits linked to the positions.
While the stated salary of a governor may appear relatively low when compared with the earnings of some senior public servants, the broader cost of operating the executive office runs into hundreds of billions of naira.
The expenditure does not represent the personal income of governors. Government House and Governor’s Office budget lines cover a broad range of official costs, including administration, personnel, protocol, maintenance, official residences, utilities, security-related activities, state functions and other expenses associated with running the executive arm of government.
Travel and transport expenditure similarly encompasses official domestic and international trips, transportation and related costs incurred across the wider state public service.
The figures nevertheless illustrate the substantial public resources required to maintain the structures surrounding state governors’ offices and raise broader questions about the overall fiscal cost of operating the offices and their supporting administrative structures.
The analysis relied on available Budget Implementation Reports covering the first and second quarters of 2026. It used the largest identifiable Government House, Governor’s Office or executive administration expenditure line for each state, alongside the general travel and transport expenditure head.
Complete data were available for 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. Comparable figures were not available for Edo, Osun and Rivers.
For the same period in 2025, available records showed that N465.07bn was spent on Government House, Governor’s Office and similar executive administration expenditure, while N92.73bn went to travel and transport. The combined expenditure was N557.80bn.
On the basis of the states and expenditure heads for which comparable records were available, spending in the first six months of 2026 was therefore N45.70bn lower than the corresponding 2025 figure, representing an 8.19 per cent decline.
Government House and Governor’s Office expenditure made up the greater portion of the total spending.
Expenditure under those heads dropped from N465.07bn in the first half of 2025 to N420.01bn in the corresponding period of 2026, a decrease of N45.05bn or 9.69 per cent.
Spending on travel and transport, however, remained relatively stable. States recorded N92.09bn under the category during the first six months of 2026, compared with N92.73bn in the corresponding period of 2025.
That amounted to a modest decline of approximately N643.66m, equivalent to 0.69 per cent.
The figures indicate that although expenditure linked to Government Houses and executive administration declined in the available records, spending on official travel remained largely unchanged.
Commenting on the figures, development economist Aliyu Ilias said the high cost of maintaining executive offices demonstrated why focusing solely on governors’ basic salaries could give a misleading picture of the wider expenses and privileges attached to the positions.
He said the cost of maintaining executive offices in Nigeria had become excessive, partly because political office holders exert considerable influence over the structure and funding of institutions under their control.
“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. And with the docile state assemblies we have, who always concur, 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.
“Some even want to go as far as borrowing money to win an election and, when they enter office, they believe they are going to repay the money. 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.
“The governor just wanted to be sensational. But with the addition you have done, it shows that they are taking the bigger cheque from the spending arising from the high income that the state is generating,” Ilias said.
A state-by-state breakdown showed that Kogi recorded the highest identifiable Government House and Governor’s Office expenditure in 2026 at N65.34bn. Ogun followed with N45.26bn, while Lagos recorded N45.04bn.
Kano recorded N25.87bn, Ekiti spent N25.22bn, while Cross River recorded N23.92bn.
Bayelsa recorded N22.99bn, followed by Imo with N19.43bn and Enugu with N16.20bn.
At the lower end of the available figures, Oyo recorded about N1.95bn, while Sokoto, Kwara and Abia recorded N2.20bn, N2.59bn and N2.78bn respectively.
Kogi’s expenditure alone accounted for more than 15 per cent of the identifiable Government House and Governor’s Office spending captured in the 2026 dataset.
For travel and transport, Plateau had the highest identifiable expenditure, recording N10.11bn during the first six months of 2026.
Lagos followed with N8.23bn, while Taraba recorded N5.16bn.
Niger spent N4.45bn, Ekiti recorded N4.41bn, Bauchi spent N3.75bn and Yobe recorded N3.68bn.
Oyo had one of the lowest identifiable travel and transport expenditures at N667.52m, while Kano recorded N626.95m.
The data also revealed considerable differences in spending patterns between 2025 and 2026.
In Kogi, for instance, Government House and Governor’s Office expenditure rose from N51.99bn in the first half of 2025 to N65.34bn during the corresponding period of 2026. That represents an increase of about N13.34bn or 25.66 per cent.
Bayelsa’s identifiable expenditure climbed from N14.48bn to N22.99bn, representing an increase of N8.51bn or 58.75 per cent.
Cross River recorded an increase from N9.91bn to N23.92bn, amounting to a rise of approximately N14.01bn or 141.37 per cent.
Ekiti, for which there was no comparable 2025 figure in the dataset used for the analysis, recorded N25.22bn during the first six months of 2026.
Several other states, however, recorded notable reductions in their spending.
Ogun’s identifiable Government House and Governor’s Office expenditure fell from N49.83bn in the first half of 2025 to N45.26bn in 2026, representing a reduction of N4.57bn or 9.17 per cent.
Kano’s expenditure declined from N28.84bn to N25.87bn, a decrease of about N2.98bn or 10.32 per cent.
Niger recorded a smaller decline from N13.13bn to N14.15bn, although the available figures show an increase of about N1.02bn, or 7.74 per cent, underscoring the differences in spending patterns across the states.
Lagos recorded one of the largest increases in the available data, as identifiable spending rose from N25.86bn in 2025 to N45.04bn in 2026. This represented an increase of approximately N19.18bn or 74.16 per cent.
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission is constitutionally mandated to determine the remuneration of governors and other political office holders. The existing remuneration framework remains in effect while a broader review is being processed by the relevant authorities.
RMAFC recently disclosed that its review of remuneration for executive and legislative office holders had reached an advanced stage, with proposed legislation expected to be considered by the National Assembly.
The expenditure comes as state governments receive substantially higher allocations from the Federation Account following the economic reforms introduced by the Federal Government.
Previous analysis of Ministry of Finance data showed that N47.25tn was distributed through the Federation Account between 2023 and 2025 alone, representing more than half of the N93.13tn shared over the nine-year period from 2017 to 2025.
The substantial increase in revenue has consequently heightened public scrutiny over whether the additional funds received by states are resulting in improved infrastructure and better public services.
Overall, the records point to a significant disparity between the official salaries of governors and the actual public cost of sustaining the executive structures around their offices.
Although a governor’s basic salary may appear modest, it accounts for only a small part of the funds required to operate Government Houses, Governors’ Offices and official travel. The wider issue, therefore, extends beyond how much governors receive as salaries to the total cost taxpayers bear in maintaining the offices they occupy.
