The hotel accommodations of President Bola Tinubu at the recently concluded 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) cost the federal government a whopping $507,384, findings have revealed.
At the current exchange rate, the figure, when converted to Naira, is equivalent to N390,690,753.
This revelation came to the light following the online circulation of a memo titled ‘Re: Mr. President’s Participation at the 7th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), New York from September 17–23, 2023,’ signed by Adebiyi O. Olufunso, the permanent secretary of the state house, and addressed to the president for approval.
As sighted by MUK TV, the memo dated September 11, 2023, shows that $422,820 (N325.5 million) out of the total amount covered the cost of rooms booked for Tinubu and his close aides at the St. Regis Hotel in New York from September 16 to 23.
The memo also shows that the remaining $84,564 (65.1 million in Naira), which is 20 percent of the hotel reservation cost, was for incidentals.
Situated on 55th Street, at the southeast corner of the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, the St. Regis Hotel is a historic luxury hotel with a room cost as high as $17,273 per night and as low as $915 per night, including taxes and fees.