Obi argued that cutting FG’s official entourage during trips alone was scratching the surface
By Kehinde Okeowo
Labour Party (LP) candidate in the February 25, 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, has urged the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government to reduce cost of governance by 60 per cent.
He made this known via his X handle while commenting on FG’s recent reduction in travel expenses.
TheNiche had on Tuesday, reported that President Tinubu announced a slash in the travel expenditure of government officials by 60 per cent.
This reduction according to the report is expected to affect his entourage and that of Vice President, Kashim Shettima, First Lady, Remi Tinubu, and his ministers.
Reacting to the development, Obi applauded the action, but argued that the decision to reduce the cost of Federal Government’s official entourage during trips was scratching the surface.
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He also wondered why the government did not disclosed how much would be saved as a result of the reduction.
Speaking via his social media page, Obi tweeted: “The just announced 60% cut in the size of federal official entourages on travels is one positive step towards the reduction of cost of governance and a way of halting wastage. But this measure is just scratching the surface as It is limited in scope and can only lead to a very negligible saving.
“We are yet to be told how much savings this will amount to. While this modest step may be somewhat commendable, what is desirable should be both a 60% reduction in federal official overseas trips as well as a 60% reduction in the size of delegations.
“Most importantly, what our current economic reality demands is a 60% reduction in the total cost of governance at the Federal level. This implies that the recently passed federal budget needs to be revised to cut all wasteful and unnecessary items.
“This is the level of cost-cutting and savings that can meaningfully impact the present state of the economy. This level of cut in the cost of government should lead to substantial savings.”
