Thirty-three state governments spent at least N512.10bn on government houses, governor’s offices, and travel and transport in the first six months of 2026, an amount about 4,713 times higher than the combined six-month salary of Nigeria’s 36 governors, an analysis of state budget implementation reports has shown on Monday.
The analysis showed that while a governor’s stated monthly salary of N503,000 translates to N3.018m over six months, the combined six-month salary of all 36 governors would amount to just N108.65m.
Against this, the available records showed that N420.01bn was identified under Government House, Governor’s Office, and related executive administration expenditure, while another N92.09bn was spent under travel and transport budget heads.
The combined amount stood at N512.10bn. The six-month salary of all 36 governors, therefore, represented only 0.02 percent of the identified expenditure on executive offices and travel.
The figures offer a striking contrast to the ongoing debate over the official salaries of Nigerian governors.
Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori recently said his monthly salary was N503,000, arguing that some senior civil servants, including permanent secretaries, earned N900,000 monthly, more than state governors.
But an analysis of the cost of maintaining the offices occupied by governors shows that their salaries represent only a fraction of the wider public expenditure and perks associated with the offices.
While the personal salary of a governor may appear modest compared with the salaries of some senior public servants, the analysis shows that the wider cost of maintaining the executive office runs into hundreds of billions of naira.
The figure is not the personal income of governors. Government House and Governor’s Office budget heads cover a broad range of official expenses, including administrative operations, staff, protocol, maintenance, official residences, utilities, security-related activities, state functions, and other expenditures required to run the executive arm of government.
Similarly, travel and transport spending covers official local and foreign trips, transportation, and related expenses across the wider state public service.
However, the figures provide an indication of the enormous public cost attached to maintaining the structures surrounding the offices of state governors and the larger fiscal question on the total public cost of maintaining the office and the administrative structures around it.
The analysis is based on available Budget Implementation Reports for the first and second quarters of 2026, using the largest identifiable Government House, Governor’s Office, or executive administration expenditure line in each state, alongside the general travel and transport expenditure head.
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 had the complete data. Comparable data were unavailable for Edo, Osun, and Rivers.
For comparison, available records for the first half of 2025 showed N465.07bn spent under Government House, the Governor’s Office, and similar executive administration heads, while N92.73bn was recorded for travel and transport. The combined figure stood at N557.80bn.
This means that, based on the states and budget heads for which comparable data were available, the first-half 2026 expenditure was about N45.70bn lower, representing an 8.19 percent decline, compared with the corresponding period of 2025.
Government House and Governor’s Office expenditure accounted for the larger share of the spending.
The amount fell from N465.07bn in the first half of 2025 to N420.01bn in the corresponding period of 2026, representing a reduction of N45.05bn or 9.69 percent.
Travel and transport spending, however, was largely unchanged. Available records showed that states spent N92.09bn on travel and transport in the first six months of 2026, compared with N92.73bn in the same period of 2025.
This represented a marginal decline of about N643.66m, or 0.69 percent.
The figures suggest that while spending under Government House and executive administration heads moderated in the available records, the cost of official travel remained broadly stable.
Commenting on the development, a development economist, Aliyu Ilias, said the enormous cost associated with maintaining executive offices showed why it was misleading to focus only on a governor’s basic salary without taking into account the wider expenses and privileges attached to the office.
