President Bola Tinubu has directed the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to ensure that government officials who are not participating directly in the coming United Nations General Assembly UNGA are not cleared to travel for the programme.
A statement Monday by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity said the measure was part of a broader effort to reduce the cost of governance in Nigeria.
To that effect, Ajuri said the President directed the Ministry to freeze the processing of visas for all such government officials seeking to travel to New York for the UNGA.
The statement said- “To prevent any sharp practice in this regard, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria is accordingly guided on official visa processing while Nigeria’s Permanent Mission in New York is further directed to prevent and stop the accreditation of any government official who is not placed on the protocol lists forwarded by the approving authority.
“By this directive of the President, all Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies are mandated to ensure that all officials, who are approved for inclusion in the UNGA delegation, strictly limit the number of aides and associated staff partaking in the event. Where excesses or anomalies in this regard are identified, they will be removed during the final verification process.
“The President wishes to affirm that, henceforth, government officials and government expenditure must reflect the prudence and sacrifice being made by well-meaning Nigerians across the nation.”