Buhari Bans First-Class Air Travels for Government Personnel

FEDERAL Government of Nigeria has banned the use of first-class air travel tickets by all its employees in the country with a view to cutting down the cost of governance adding that it is no longer business as usual.

The directive categorically stated that henceforth, ministers, permanent secretaries and all other top federal government official will no longer fly first-class tickets with public funds when on official assignments but to go by business class.

In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Festus Akanbi, the directive had been transmitted in a circular on the review of overhead expenses as released by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation adding that it was among the recommendations by the Efficiency Unit which she set up last year to review overhead cost of governance of the Federal Government.

“Efficiency Unit, in its negotiation for discounts with local and international airlines, also recommended other measures for reducing the government’s large expenditure on travels to the OSGF. This includes the need to restrict business class travel to Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, chairmen of Federal Government committees, as well as chairmen and chief executives officers of parastatals and agencies.

“In the past, some government officials, who should have been on business class, usually travelled business class instead of economy. The second recommendation bothered on the need to reduce the frequency of travels by ensuring that board and committee events such as meetings, workshops and conferences in Nigeria are held in locations where the institutions or persons participating in the event are domiciled.

“Furthermore, such events should, for the most part, be held in Nigeria, but where this is not possible, the prior approval of the Secretary to the Federal Government should be secured.

“In line with the present administration’s commitment to the reform of public expenditure, the OSGF accepted the recommendations in full and has accordingly issued a circular to effect the changes.

“The buy-in and prompt reaction of the OSGF is an attestation to the common resolve by government to its change mantra and the spirit of collaboration among government institutions and officials.

Explaining the rationale, the minister said that the review will lead to cutting down of about 20% using the figure of N69.41bn incurred on air travels in 2014 alone which saves a whooping sum of N13.88 billion enough to embark on infrastructural projects for the country. She added that the government had successfully secured remarkable discounts from 11 airlines ranging from 7% to 50% on all local and international routes for officials of ministries, departments and agencies of government (MDAs).

“Such large savings from travel, which should ordinarily not be a major expense item for the government, will become available for investment in capital projects such as roads, power, railways and public health facilities. The savings are expected to be even larger when discounts secured from airlines are added. Already, 11 airlines have offered discounts on local and international routes for travel by officials of the MDAs, while negotiations are ongoing with others”, the minister said.