PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has directed that the official entourage for his local and international travels should not exceed 20 persons.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Ajuri Ngelale disclosed this while briefing journalists at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, January 9.
The reduction in entourage also affects government officials across every ministry department and agency (MDA).
“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,” Ngelale said.
This comes less than two months after about 422 delegates were sponsored to the United Arab Emirates by the Tinubu-led-government to attend the Conference of Parties (COP 28) Climate Change Summit held in December 2023.
Ngelale disclosed that while the President would get 20 people as part of his entourage for international trips, the Vice President, the President’s wife, and the Vice President’s wife would be entitled to five.
For all local travels, Tinubu is entitled to take a maximum of 25 people, while the Vice President can go with 15.
The First Lady and Wife of the Vice President can take only a maximum of 10 people for their local travels.
Ministers are now limited to travelling with four persons on foreign trips, while heads of agencies can go with two.
Over 1,400 Nigerians were in attendance at the COP 28 Summit, and many citizens criticised the large number of attendees due to the current economic hardships confronting the country.
The Presidency, however, reacted to the criticism, saying only 422 delegates were sponsored by the Federal Government, as other attendees were sponsored by state governments and non-governmental organisations.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.