President Bola Tinubu

To reduce the cost of governance, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has barred government officials with no proof of direct participation in the official schedules for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) activities from travelling to New York for the event.

According to his directive on Monday, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to freeze the processing of visas for all such government officials while the U.S. Mission in Nigeria is accordingly advised not to approve such visas.

The President added that if any excess or anomaly is still observed despite his directive, such affected persons would be removed during the final verification process.

The full statement reads: “As part of a broader effort to reduce the cost of governance in Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to freeze the processing of visas for all government officials seeking to travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly without proof of direct participation in UNGA’s official schedule of activities.

“To prevent any sharp practice in this regard, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria is accordingly guided on official visa processing while Nigeria’s Permanent Mission in New York is further directed to prevent and stop the accreditation of any government official who is not placed on the protocol lists forwarded by the approving authority.

“By this directive of the President, all Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies are mandated to ensure that all officials, who are approved for inclusion in the UNGA delegation, strictly limit the number of aides and associated staff partaking in the event. Where excesses or anomalies in this regard are identified, they will be removed during the final verification process.

“The President wishes to affirm that, henceforth, government officials and government expenditure must reflect the prudence and sacrifice being made by well-meaning Nigerians across the nation.”