Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has restricted Ministers, Ministers of State, and Heads of Agencies of the Federal Government to a maximum of three vehicles in their official convoys.

No additional vehicles will be assigned to them for movement.

The cost-cutting measure was announced today in a statement signed by the President.

In January this year, President Tinubu took significant steps to reduce government expenditure, by reducing his entourage on foreign trips from 50 to 20 officials. For local trips, he reduced it to 25 officials.

He similarly reduced the Vice President’s entourage to five officials on foreign trips and 15 for local trips.

In the directive issued today, 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 will comprise four police officers and one Department of State Services (DSS) officer.

No additional security personnel will be assigned, he ordered.

President Tinubu instructed the National Security Adviser 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.

Bayo Onanuga

Special Adviser to the President

(Information & Strategy)

October 24, 2024

The Federal Government has directed all outgoing ministers to complete the handing over and taking over processes on or before October 30.

This followed the reshuffling of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday leading to the discharge of five ministers, nomination of seven news persons for ministerial appointment, reassignment of ten ministers and restructuring of some ministries.

In a memorandum on Wednesday evening, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, outlined the transition process.

According to the memorandum, outgoing ministers without incoming counterparts are expected to hand over to Permanent Secretaries.

The memo further said the SGF’s office, in collaboration with the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, is coordinating the merger of the Ministry of Tourism with the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, and the winding down of the defunct Ministry of Sports Development.

It said the renaming and expansion of the mandate of the defunct Ministry of Niger Delta Development takes immediate effect, adding that relevant supervising authorities and commissions under the new ministry have been notified.

Permanent Secretaries of affected ministries must ensure seamless implementation and forward copies of handover notes to the SGF’s office for record-keeping purposes.

“Necessary directives have been issued on the implementation of the approval of Mr President, accordingly.

“All handing over and taking over processes should be completed on/or before Wednesday 30th October, 2024.

“In the case of Ministries where there are no Ministers to take-over, the out-going Ministers should hand over to the Permanent Secretaries.

“The processes for the seamless merger of the Ministry of Tourism with Ministry of Arts Culture and Creative Economy as well as the winding-down of the defunct Ministry of Sports Development are
being coordinated jointly by the Offices of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.

“Similarly, the renaming and the expansion of mandate of the defunct Ministry of Niger Delta Development is to take immediate effect. The releasing supervising authorities as well as Commissions under the new Ministry have been duly notified on this development.

“Respective Permanent Secretaries are directed to ensure seamless implementation and also forward one copy each of the hand-over notes to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation for the records,” the memorandum reads.

Workers from the Ministry of Women Affairs were seen celebrating after Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye was dismissed as Minister on Wednesday.

In a video posted on the social media platform X by APC chieftain Abubakar Sidiq Usman, employees were filmed dancing in the office corridors, chanting “finally” in response to the minister’s removal.

Kennedy-Ohanenye was among five ministers sacked during the Federal Executive Council meeting, including Lola Ade-John (Tourism), Jamila Bio Ibrahim (Youth Development), Tahir Mamman (Education), and Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo (Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development).

The development comes as President Tinubu’s administration continues to implement changes aimed at addressing the country’s challenges, with the latest being a reshuffling of his cabinet.

President Bola Tinubu says Nigerian motorists now have the option of buying fuel at at N1,000 per litre or gas equivalent at N200 per Standard Cubic Meter.

The president said this during a meeting with executives of the Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO) at the State House in Abuja, on Tuesday.

The President commended NIPCO’s contributions to the nation’s energy transition efforts, particularly its support for the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI).

During the meeting, Tinubu acknowledged NIPCO’s role as a critical player in enhancing the adoption of CNG as an alternative fuel, noting that such investments align with his administration’s energy security and economic diversification strategy.

He emphasised the importance of public-private partnerships in driving the transition to cleaner
and more affordable energy solutions for Nigerians.

The President lauded NIPCO’s efforts in promoting and supporting the “Switch to CNG” campaign, which has been instrumental in boosting public awareness and providing affordable CNG conversion kits even before the official kickoff of the Presidential CNG Initiative.

He highlighted the significance of this initiative in reducing the nation’s reliance on petrol and cutting down fuel costs for consumers.

CNG, being a cleaner and more affordable fuel, reduces the carbon footprint and saves consumers significant fuel costs.

“Nigeria’s motorists can buy petrol at N1,000 per litre or equivalent gas per Standard Cubic Meter at N200. We have also introduced incentives for commercial motorists to convert from petrol to gas” free of cost,” Bayo Onanuga, Presidential spokesman, quoted Tinubu to have said.

Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to providing a conducive environment for private sector investments and expanding Nigeria’s CNG infrastructure to enhance energy efficiency and economic growth.

He further encouraged NIPCO to continue its innovative approach to CNG expansion while supporting the government’s broader goals in the energy sector.

Mr Ramesh Kasangra, NIPCO director, who led the delegation, thanked President Tinubu for his steadfast support of the CNG sector.

He expressed NIPCO’s commitment to furthering the partnership with the government to ensure Nigeria’s energy transition remains on track.

He assured the president that the company was ready to invest in infrastructure to make CNG more accessible nationwide.