President Bola Tinubu has implemented a significant 60% reduction in the travel expenditure of government officials within his administration.
The directive, confirmed by Presidential Spokesman Ajuri Ngelale during an address to State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, affects the travel budgets of the President, Vice President, First Lady, ministers, and heads of various government agencies.
Ngelale emphasized that this reduction is not a mere request but a firm directive that will impact all state entourages.
The offices of the president, vice president, and their respective appointees will be subject to this cost-cutting measure.
“Tinubu has directed that all state entourages be drastically reduced. This is not a request. It is a directive. The office of the president and staff will be affected. VP, appointees are affected. By this directive, there will be a slashing of expenditure on official travel by 60 per cent,” he stated.
President Tinubu has imposed specific limitations on the number of accompanying staff for official travels outside Nigeria.
According to Ngelale, the President will now be accompanied by a maximum of 20 staff members during international trips.
Furthermore, ministers are instructed to restrict their entourage to only four staff members when embarking on foreign journeys, while heads of government agencies are limited to a maximum of two accompanying personnel.
In addition to these measures, President Tinubu has abolished the practice of extensive security delegations when visiting states within the country.
The directive mandates that, during his visit to any state, the local security apparatus will be solely responsible for his security.
This directive equally applies to the Vice President and other high-ranking government officials.
