Ibrahim Shekarau, a former governor of Kano State, has called on President Bola Tinubu to reduce the number of political appointees to further cut the cost of governance.
Mr Shekarau made the call on Tuesday while reacting to the slash of entourage of federal government officials during local and foreign trips.
Mr Tinubu had earlier directed that his trips within the country, shall have an entourage of at most 25 officials. On foreign trips, the number of accompanying officials shall not exceed 20 persons.
Also, the vice president will not have more than five officials accompanying him on foreign trips. On trips within the country, the vice president shall have an entourage of not more than 15 officials.
The first lady and the vice president’s wife shall also not have more than five officials in their entourage when travelling outside the country.
The two wives shall have a maximum of 10 accompanying officials each when they travel within the country.
Ministers shall have only four accompanying officials when travelling, while heads of agencies shall have two.
“Another angle I expect the president to address is the number of appointees,” the former governor suggested while featuring on Channels TV. “Some of these appointees may not be necessarily required. Government should come up with a minimum or maximum number.”
He advised Mr Tinubu to ensure the directive is not a lip service like those of past administrations and urged state governors to take a clue from the president and cut down on wastages at the state levels.
