President Bola Tinubu has slashed the expenditure of all offical travels (domestic and international) by 60 per cent.
For foreign travels, the president will now have no more than 20 persons in his entourage, his vice and first lady will have not more than five persons each in their entourage.
For local trips, the president will have maximum of 25 persons on his team while his vice and first lady will have no more than 15 and 10 respectively.
Presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale disclosed this while addressing State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday.
Ngelale explained that the decision is part of the presidency’s cost-cutting measures aimed at streamlining expenditure.
He emphasised that the directive would impact the travel budgets of also heads of various government agencies.
Stating that the reduction was not a mere request but a firm directive, Ngelale highlighted that all state entourages are to be notably curtailed.
According to Ngelale, “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 said ministers are to restrict their entourage to only four staff members when embarking on foreign journeys, while heads of government agencies are now limited to a maximum of two accompanying personnel.
Ngelale also revealed that Tinubu has abolished the practice of extensive security delegations when visiting states within the country.
He said Tinubu directed that, in the event of his visit to any state, the local security apparatus will be solely responsible for his security.
The directive similarly applies to the vice president and other high-ranking government officials.
