Baruteen local council officials splash N112m on local, foreign trips in 2025

…takes N523m as security vote

The Baruteen Local Government Council spent over N112 million on local and foreign travels in 2025, official financial documents have shown.

A review of the council’s budgetary and expenditure records revealed that a total of N111,305,000 was expended under the heading “Travel and Transport – General”, out of an approved provision of N145,200,000 for the year.

The breakdown of the travel expenses shows that N78,355,000 and N31,700,000 were spent on local travels and transport-related engagements by council officials.

Also, N1,250,000 was recorded as expenditure on foreign trips.

The documents did not specify the nature, destinations, or duration of the trips, nor did they indicate the officials who benefited from the travels.

Beyond travel costs, the council also got a substantial N523,850,000 under a budget line titled “Security Vote (Including Operations)”.

Security votes are discretionary funds allocated to public office holders for security-related purposes and are often criticised due to the absence of detailed breakdowns or public accountability mechanisms.

Despite the size of the security vote allocation, the financial records reviewed did not show any corresponding expenditure on the procurement of security equipment such as patrol vehicles, surveillance tools, communication gadgets, or other crime-prevention infrastructure.

There were also no line items indicating investment in community policing initiatives or support for conventional security agencies operating within the local government area.

Baruteen remains one of the Local Government Areas worst hit by terrorist attacks in the state.