Peter Obi, the Labour Party‘s (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, believes the country needs a 60 per cent reduction in the cost of governance, not a reduction in travel entourages.
President Bola Tinubu reduced the number of people on his international and domestic entourages by 60% on Tuesday.
According to Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, the move is part of the presidency’s cost-cutting measures.
The measure will all affect the president, vice president, first lady, ministers, and heads of agencies.
In response to the news, Obi said in a thread on his X page on Wednesday that the measure “is just scratching the surface.” This, he added, would only result in negligible savings.
He also said the 2024 budget needs to be revised to cut all wasteful and unnecessary items.
Obi said:
“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 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 know how much the measure will save and where such savings will be applied.”