By Ghazali Ibrahim
President Bola Tinubu’s administration has tightened regulations governing official foreign trips by ministers, security chiefs and other senior government officials.
Under the new directive, ministers, service chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police, heads of government agencies, permanent secretaries and other public officials must obtain prior approval from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation before embarking on official foreign journeys.
The directive was contained in a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, amid concerns over non-compliance with existing rules on official foreign travel.
The government said the measure was aimed at strengthening accountability, fiscal discipline and transparency in the conduct of official foreign engagements.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also been directed to demand evidence of the required approval before processing official visas, diplomatic notes and other travel-related requests for affected government officials.
Similarly, government agencies are expected to ensure that public funds are not released for foreign trips that have not received the necessary clearance.
The Auditor-General for the Federation will also require evidence of approval when auditing expenditure incurred on official foreign trips.
The directive covers senior officials across the Federal Government, including ministers, service chiefs, the police chief and heads of ministries, departments and agencies.
The SGF noted that the requirement was not entirely new, pointing to previous government circulars issued over the years regulating official foreign travel.
The latest directive, however, signals a renewed effort by the Tinubu administration to enforce the rules and curb unauthorised foreign trips by public officials.
