President Tinubu reduces travel delegations for official trips by 60%

President Bola Tinubu has issued a directive to significantly reduce the number of travel delegations for all official trips by the Federal Government, both within and outside the country. This directive entails a 60% reduction across the board and applies to all government agencies, including the President’s office, Vice President’s office, and the First Lady’s office.

During a press briefing at the State House in Abuja, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, confirmed this directive. He emphasized that the 60% reduction would be implemented uniformly across all government agencies, including the President’s office, Vice President’s office, and the First Lady’s office.

Furthermore, for international travel approvals, specific limits have been set for ministers and heads of agencies. Ministers will be allowed to travel with four members of their staff or appointees, while heads of agencies will be limited to two staff members on official trips.

The President has also approved a maximum of 20 individuals to accompany him on official travels, with the number reduced to five for the First Lady. Similarly, the Vice President’s entourage on official international trips will be limited to five individuals, and the same limit of five will apply to the Vice President’s wife.

Regarding domestic trips, the President has set a new limit of 25 staff members to accompany him within the country. The First Lady will be allowed to have 10 staff members accompany her on official trips within the country.

For the Vice President, the limit for staff members on official trips within the country will be 15, while his wife will be limited to 10 staff members, mirroring the limit set for the First Lady.

These measures aim to streamline and optimize official travel, ensuring efficiency and cost-effectiveness in government operations.

It’s important to highlight that there is a distinction between the number of staff members permitted to accompany officials on international trips compared to domestic ones. The number of staff members allowed on international trips is lower than those allowed on domestic trips.

This is because international trips tend to be more expensive overall, and the President is committed to ensuring responsible and careful management of our nation’s resources.

As a result, the President has issued a directive that applies to all federal government agencies, including the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice President, and the offices of the First and Second Ladies.

From now on, the President firmly believes that the era of government wastage, excessive recurrent expenditure, and officials conducting their affairs differently from what is expected of Nigerian citizens in terms of prudence and cost management is over.