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