Cost of governance: Pres. Tinubu trims FG’s entourage for foreign, local trips 

In his bid to cut the cost of governance and in line with the harsh economic realities, President Bola Tinubu has announced a major slash in travel delegations for all federal government trips within and outside the country.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President disclosed this at a media briefing held at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday.

The presidential directive states that there will be a 60 percent slash across the board, including all MDAs, the offices of the President, Vice President, and First Lady.

According to Ngelale, the days of extravagant trips are over. Prudence and cost management are the new normal for all government officials embarking on foreign and local trips.

He said: “For heads of agency, that will be limited to two members of staff allowed to travel on an official trip.

“The President has now approved for official travel that no more than 20 individuals be allowed to travel with him.

“The Vice President will be limited to 15 members of staff on official trips within the country, while his wife will be limited to 10 members of staff on officials within the country, the same as the first lady.

“It is pertinent to note that there is a difference between the number of members of staff allowed to travel with the presiding officials on international trips and those that are allowed for domestic trips.

“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, 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 concerning prudence and cost management, those days are over.”

Persecondnews recalls that this policy was introduced during the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2023, when he directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to freeze the processing of visas for government officials who have no business at the assembly.

A statement signed by Ajuri Ngelale said the move is in line “with a broader effort to reduce the cost of governance in Nigeria.”

Government officials without proof of direct participation in UNGA’s official schedule of activities have been barred from making the trip, he said.