House of Representatives Committee on Information and National Orientation on Wednesday, faulted the N8.7 billion budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Information and National Orientation for its 2025 operations describing it as grossly inadequate.
Speaking at the 2025 budget defence session in Abuja the Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Fatoba Olusola (APC-Ekiti state) pointed out that the amount allocated to the ministry in 2024 when the national budget was N28.7 trillion, was higher than the N8.2 billion allocated in 2025 when the national budget is N49.7 trillion.
In addition, the Committee also rejected the N1.2 billion Capital component of the budget.
Rep Fatoba pointed out that it was unacceptable for an agency which bears the responsibility of dissemination of information not to get a substantial amount of the 2025 budget.
Also speaking in same vein, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Felix Nwaeke expressed the displeasure of the Committee over the meager allocation to the Ministry saddled with various tasks that were important to the National development.
He suggested that the committee should reject the budget and make a case before the leadership of the house for an increase.
In contribution, Rep. Ismail Tijani (APC-Kwara) also kicked against the allocation of the Ministry saying that the amount was too small to sustain the ministry in 2025 to achieve its mandate.
He said that some of the agencies under the ministry have foreign offices where the image of the country is being projected saying that the funds would not be sufficient to meet the demands of the ministry.
Also speaking, Rep. Akin Rotimi (APC-Ekiti state) said that many agencies of government who do not have the expertise were doing the job of the ministry.
He said that a glance at the 2025 budget showed lump sums allocated to information and orientation in the budget downline of other agencies.
Rotimi suggested that all allocation for information and orientation in the 2025 budget should be domiciled in the ministry where the expertise resides.
Rep. Amobi Ogah criticized the envelop budgeting system practiced in the country, saying it is limiting the performance of government agencies.
He called on the National Assembly to do away with the envelop budgeting system to allow agencies of government freedom to work according to their capacity.
While ruling on the matter, the chairman of the Committee, Rep Fatoba said the committee rejected the capital component of the budget and pledged to work with the leadership of the House, Senate, and the Minister of Finance to review the budget.
Earlier, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Muhammed Idris had said that the ministry was saddled with responsibility of ensuring that information that Nigerians required from government was made available to the citizens.
According to him, “This should be timely, accurate, honest and in consistent manner; that is what the ministry and all of its agencies are doing at all times.
Idris explained that the ministry was looking forward to deepening engagements with the citizens by organising town halls on government activities across the country.
He said that the ministry was also looking forward to consolidating the ministerial briefing where ministers would appear to inform Nigerians what they were doing and get feedback from the members of the Public.
According to Idris, they have seen over the years the gradual erosion of trust from the Nigerian public to the government.
He said that there is a need for the Ministry of Information and its agencies to deepen its engagement with the Nigerian public so that people will get to know more about the activities and programmes of government.
According to him, “Now there is a portal that we have also strengthened by the way of information coming from these ministries coming in there so that Nigerians can be better from this portal, this site has been reinvigorated.
“We urge all Nigerians to go back there. And all of this, of course, is important so that we can improve policy awareness, and we can also take feedback from the Nigerian public.
“The President has given us this mandate, that is not enough for government to be seen to be building roads, it is not enough for government to be seen to be constructing hospitals.
“It is not enough for government to be seen to be putting money into education. We need to inculcate the right values in our citizenry, especially the young ones, so that Nigerians can reclaim, once again, the lost glory.
“We know that during the time of our forecast, people, in the first democratic experiment, the Sir Amodu Bello, the Taraba Balewa, the Azikiwe, the Awolowo, all of them when we talk about them, the tendency is that we say our founding fathers have done so well, but what has happened since they left the sea? We are still unable to stop talking about them.
“Now, the idea is to replicate the Azikiwe, replicate the Awolowo, especially among our young people, so that Nigeria can once again, begin to think and talk and act as Nigerians”.
READ MORE FROM: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
