President Bola Tinubu yesterday restricted ministers, ministers of state, and heads of agencies of the Federal Government to a maximum of three vehicles in their official convoys, saying no additional vehicles would be assigned to them for movement.
This came as the Presidency explained late Wednesday night that Nigerians’ perception played a key role in the President’s decision to rejig his cabinet.
The President’s new directive was contained in his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy statement, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, “the cost-cutting measure was announced today (yesterday) in a statement by the President.”
Recall that in January this year, President Tinubu took steps to reduce government expenditures by reducing his entourage on foreign trips from 50 to 20 officials and on local trips to 25 officials.
Similarly, he reduced the Vice President’s entourage to five officials on foreign trips and 15 for local trips.
In the directive issued yesterday, President Tinubu also ordered all ministers, ministers of state, and heads of agencies to have at most five security personnel attached to them.
The security team, according to him, will comprise four police officers and one Department of State Services, DSS, officer.
He said: “No additional security personnel will be assigned.”
The President also instructed the National Security Adviser, NSA, to engage with the military, paramilitary and security agencies to determine a suitable reduction in their vehicle and security personnel deployment.
“All affected officials are expected to comply with these new measures immediately, underscoring the urgency and seriousness of these changes,” the statement added.
Also, following the removal, appointment and redeployment of some members of the Federal Executive Council, NEC, on Wednesday, the Presidency has said the President’s decision was influenced by Nigerians’ perceptions.
This is even as indications emerged yesterday the reason the President retained some key cabinet members, despite multiple media speculations of their rumoured removal.
The President also yesterday wrote the Senate, seeking the screening and subsequent confirmation of appointments of seven ministerial nominees announced in Abuja on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Tinubu reassigned 10 ministers to new portfolios, relieved five of their duties, and nominated seven new nominees for Senate confirmation.
The President also renamed the Ministry of Niger Delta Development as the Ministry of Regional Development, scrapped the Ministry of Sports Development, and merged the Ministries of Tourism and Arts and Culture, forming the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism, and the Creative Economy.
Those dismissed include the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye; Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John; Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman; Minister of Youth Development, Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim; and the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi Gwarzo.
Providing more details on the cabinet reshuffle in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday night, Mr. Onanuga, explained that the decision to remove the affected ministers was based on public perception and empirical data.
According to him, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, introduced a technological system that allowed Nigerians to assess the performance of the ministers.
He said: “It wasn’t done arbitrarily. Hadiza Bala Usman brought in technology, asking Nigerians to rate the ministers. So, the removal of these ministers was based on empirical facts, shaped by public perception.
“The scorecards were filled out by the people, and the President acted on those results.
“It wasn’t just about meeting the President’s expectations but also the public. A few weeks ago, during a cabinet meeting, the President urged the ministers to inform Nigerians of their accomplishments because, according to him, there is public perception that the government wasn’t performing.
“The government believed it was, but the ministers weren’t effectively communicating their work.’’
Onanuga further mentioned that in addition to dismissing the ministers, the administration was working to reduce the cost of governance.
“The President will soon announce measures to reduce government expenditure, starting with the ministers. I don’t want to pre-empt the details, but the cuts will be significant to demonstrate the government’s seriousness in reducing the cost of governance.
“The government is aware of what’s required to address the country’s challenges. It’s not about the size of the government, but about having many competent hands to drive its agenda.
“You will hear announcements soon about how the government plans to cut the cost of running its affairs,” the Presidential aide said.
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