In a bid to curb government spending, President Bola Tinubu has implemented a drastic reduction in official travel expenses. This applies to all levels, from the President himself down to ministers and agency heads.
The President has implemented a substantial 60% reduction in the expenditure for official travel, both domestic and international. The directive outlines specific limits on the number of individuals allowed to accompany the President, Vice President, and the First Lady during official trips.
For foreign trips, the President will be accompanied by a maximum of 20 persons, while the Vice President and the First Lady will have only five persons each. On local trips, the President will travel with 25 individuals, the Vice President with 15, and the First Lady with 10.
Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, announced this cost-cutting initiative. He explained that the directive extends across the entire federal government, including the offices of the President, Vice President, and the First Lady. Notable changes include a reduction in allowances and estacode for security details during official trips within the country.
Furthermore, the President has set limits on the number of accompanying staff for ministers, heads of agencies, and principal staff during international and domestic trips. The directive aims to promote prudence, efficiency, and financial responsibility in the management of public resources.
Ngelale emphasized that the President’s directive applies universally to federal MDAs, the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice President, and the offices of the First and Second Ladies. The move reflects the President’s commitment to ending wastage, reducing recurrent expenditure, and aligning government officials’ conduct with the prudence expected of Nigerian citizens.
His words, “It is pertinent to note that there is a difference between the number of members of staff allowed to travel with the presiding officials to international trips and those that are allowed for domestic. You will find that the numbers on international trips are less than those allowed on domestic trips. This is because international trips are far more expensive across the board and the President is determined to bring total sanity and prudence to the management of the Commonwealth of our people. “As a result of this, the President has directed that every federal MDA also including the office of the president itself and the Office of the Vice President as well as the offices of the first and Second Ladies, are affected and bound by this directive of the president. “Henceforth, the President is insistent that the notion of government wastage, the notion of recurrent expenditure being in excess, the notion that government officials will be allowed to conduct their affairs in a way that is different from what we are asking of Nigerian citizens with respect to prudence and cost management, those days are over. “The President is insistent that the prudence of government officials must reflect the prudence and efficiency of Nigerian citizens and this is the directive of the President. Thank you very much.”
When questioned about the enforcement of these restrictions, Ajuri stated that the seriousness of the President’s directive should be clear to all federal government officers. Any attempt to disregard the directive would be at their own peril.
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