Obi: Nigeria needs 60% slash in governance cost, not reduction of travel entourage

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, says what the nation needs is a 60 percent cut in the cost of governance, not a reduction of travel entourages.

On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu slashed the number of people on entourages for international and local travels by 60 percent.

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, said the move is part of cost cutting measures of the presidency.

The measure will affect the office of the president, vice-president, first lady, ministers and heads of agencies.

Reacting to the development, Obi in a thread on his X page on Wednesday, said the measure “is just scratching the surface” because it will only lead to a negligible saving.

He also said the 2024 budget needs to be revised to cut all wasteful and unnecessary items.

“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,” Obi said.

“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.

“Such savings should be used to fund the productive sectors of the economy and the much-needed social investments, especially in three key areas: education, healthcare, and the migration of millions of Nigerians from poverty.

“Most importantly, it is not enough to announce arbitrary cuts in the size of federal official entourages. The nation needs to be informed of how much the measure will save and where such savings will be applied.”