Tinubu moves to reduce cost of governance, slashes travel entourage of key officials

President Bola Tinubu has implemented austerity measures aimed at reducing government expenditure, with a significant focus on curtailing travel expenses.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, announced on Tuesday that the directive mandates a 60% reduction in the size of official entourages for both domestic and international trips.

The policy applies to a broad range of government officials, encompassing the Offices of the President, Vice President, First Lady, Wife of the Vice President, and all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

He said, “President Bola Tinubu has approved that anywhere he travels within this country he will no longer accept or allow huge security delegations to be following him from Abuja, which attracts massive bills with respect to estacode and duty allowances from now on.

“He has approved a massive cost-cutting exercise that will cut across the entire Federal Government of Nigeria and the Offices of the President himself, the Vice President and the Office of the First Lady. It will be conducted in the following fashion.

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“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.

“In terms of local trips, the President has approved a new limit of 25 members of staff to accompany him on domestic trips within the country.”

The rationale behind the measure, according to Ngelale, is to “ensure prudent management of public resources” and to “reduce unnecessary expenditure on travel.”

He further emphasized President Tinubu’s commitment to “fiscal responsibility and transparency” in government operations.

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