The Federal Government has banned the purchase and distribution of conference bags,
T-shirts and other souvenirs at events such as Conferences and Seminars funded by
Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). This is contained in a statement
made available to newsmen in Abuja by the Director of Information, Federal Ministry of
Finance, Salisu Dambatta today July 31st.
According to the statement, the ban was in continuation of the on-going cost-cutting
and efficiency drive in the utilization of public funds by the present administration. The
statement reads in part
“The directive which is a recognition of the fact that in a period of lean financial
resources unnecessary expenditure on overheads such souvenirs are luxuries that
the government must eliminate.
This will enable release of funds for infrastructure and services such as health
and education that would have direct positive impact on the well being of the
citizenry and promote economic development. The directive also contained
specific guidelines that would reduce the cost of printing Invitation Cards,
Programme of events, Brochures, Folders and Note Pads. Among the guidelines
are that they should be in black and white and limited to only one page and in
the case of Brochures they should be streamlined to contain only essential
information”it said. Also, the statement said the printing of unnecessary
publications and books of short shelf life which have no real value to the
concerned public institutions or the citizens has also been banned. “MDAs were
encouraged to save costs by uploading such publications on their websites
which has the added benefit of wider visibility” the statement read
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