President Muhammadu Buhari has banned ministers and all top government officials from flying first class while embarking on officials trips.
Festus Akanbi, media adviser to Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Akanbi said the decision was taken in a bid to reduce the amount being spent on overheard expenditure.
The statement said permanent secretaries, chairmen of federal government committees, chairmen and chief executives of parastatals and agencies are to travel on business class.
Akanbi said the directive had been captured in a circular on review of overhead expenses released by the office of the secretary to the government of the federation.
He said the development was one of the recommendations made by the efficiency unit which was set up by Adeosun in order to reduce overhead expenses.
Ironically, President Buhari still flies on Nigeria’s long fleet of presidential jets maintained at huge costs to government. Between May 2015 and November 2015, the Buhari administration spent over N2 billion maintaining the presidential jets according to a statement by presidential spokesman Garba Shehu.
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