THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TINUBU’S FIRST WEEK OF 2024
the President visits a state for instance like his recent visit to Lagos during the Christmas/New Year holiday, during which he decided to observe the Jumat at the Central Mosque in Lagos Island, the long stretch of vehicles noticed in his convoy are not entirely his own. Some dignitaries in Lagos, top security officers, top traditional rulers, political associates and many others simply joined the entourage to the mosque at no prompting of the President.
The importance of cutting the number in the President’s travels apart from the concomitant reduction in total cost of the trip is unmistakable. First, it is in tandem with the demands of the present challenging times when prices of goods and services have skyrocketed owing to what many tie to the prevalent foreign exchange rate.
Second, by slashing the presidential entourage, President Tinubu has again demonstrated leadership by example. He has shown he fully understands what the people are experiencing at present and shares in their pains, which he says will be temporary, following his New Year Day speech.
Indeed, the cost of governance and administration in Nigeria is high and it has become imperative to bring it down. Every possible avenue must be employed to do this. It is estimated that the country mostly spends over 75% of her federal budget on recurrent expenditure, leaving less than 25% for capital expenditure. The present administration is set to change this governance narrative. For instance, in the N28.7trillion 2024 budget, recurrent expenditure was pegged at N8.7tr and capital expenditure at N9.9tr. This trend is expected to continue going forward.