President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday directed a 60 percent reduction in the number of his official visits to any state within the country as well as officials on his entourage on international trips.
President Tinubu said “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 cost-cutting measure, the President said, cuts across his office, the office of the vice President as well as that of the First Lady and wife of the Vice President respectively.
In the new development, the President said henceforth, only 20 persons will accompany him on any official foreign trips.
President Tinubu pegged the number of officials accompanying the Vice President as well as Wife of the President on official trips abroad to only 5 persons respectively.
The President approved that only 25 persons for his office, 15 for the Vice President and 10 for the office of the First Lady on official trips to any state within the country.
Giving further insight into the new measure, Presidential Spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, explained that the directive is to trim the massive bills that accrues due to allowances and estacodes for the delegation including security details coming from Abuja.
He said, “the massive bills that accrued due to allowances and esta code for security details coming from Abuja going and traveling into those states will be massively cut due to the directive of the President.
He explained that “that the security outfits within states, whether it be police DSS, or branches of the military, will frontline his protective detail when he travels to those states, a major cost cutting initiative that will affect the Office of the Vice President as well as the Office of the First Lady.
Ngelale also revealed that for any international travels, “limits have been placed on all ministers of the Federation.
“Additionally, when any international travel is being approved, the following limits have been placed on all ministers of the Federation. Four members of their staff, appointees and the like will be allowed to travel with a minister on official trip.
“For heads of agency that will be limited to two members of staff allowed to travel on an official trip. Furthermore, the numbers that the President has now approved for official travel with him that will apply to his principal staff are as follows: on international trips the President has directed that no more than 20 individuals be allowed to travel with him. That number will be cut down to five in the case of the First Lady.
“Additionally, the number in the entourage on official international trips for the Vice President will be cut to five, the number that will be placed as a limit on the wife of the Vice President is also five.”
Details later.
