President Bola Tinubu has prohibited representatives of the federal government from attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States, if they have no defined tasks to perform or if there is no documentation of direct involvement.
According to a statement made by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s decision was a part of a larger initiative to lower the cost of governance in Nigeria.
Ngelale said that President Tinubu gave the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs the order to halt the issuance of visas to any government officials wishing to attend the UNGA’s official programme of events in New York.
The statement continued, “To prevent any unethical behaviour in this regard, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria is accordingly instructed 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 listed on the protocol lists forwarded by the approving authority.
All federal ministries, departments, and agencies are required to make sure that all officials who have been given permission to join the UNGA delegation tightly restrict the number of aides and other staff members who attend the event. Any excesses or irregularities found in this respect will be eliminated during the final verification procedure.
The statement said, “The President desires to reiterate that going forward, government officials and government expenditure must reflect the caution and sacrifice being made by well-meaning Nigerians across the nation.
