President Bola Tinubu has ordered government officials not to travel abroad using public money for the next three months, starting from April 1, 2024.
Tinubu’s decision was made known in a letter dated March 12, 2024, signed by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, and sent to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
Earlier, in January, Tinubu had ordered that only a limited number of people could accompany him on trips, both within Nigeria and abroad. He said no more than 25 people should go with him for local trips and only 20 for international ones.
He also said that when he travels, he will use security provided by the place he visits, instead of bringing many security personnel from Abuja.
This decision came after criticism of the large number of officials who went with Tinubu to the twenty-eighth Conference of Parties (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates. About 590 Nigerian officials attended the conference, causing public outcry.
In response, the government clarified that it only paid for 422 out of the 590 people who went to the conference.
The letter announcing the ban mentioned that Tinubu was worried about the high cost of government travel and believed that officials should focus more on their work to provide better service.
“Considering the current economic challenges and the need for responsible fiscal management, I am writing to communicate Mr Presideni’s directive to place a temporary ban on all public funded international trips for all Federal Government officials at all levels, for an initial period of three months from Ist April 2024.”
The ban, according to the letter, was aimed at reducing costs in governance.
It added, “This temporary measure is aimed at cost reduction in governance and intended as a cost-saving measure without compromising government functions.”
Tinubu added that government officials who intend to go on any public funded foreign trip must seek and get presidential approval at least two weeks before embarking on any such trip, which must be ‘deemed absolutely necessary’.
It added, “All government officials who intend to go on any public funded international trips must seek and obtain Presidential approval at least two weeks prior to embarking on any such trip, which must be deemed absolutely necessary.”
