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Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Wednesday, canvassed for adequate funding for the Federal Ministry of Information because of its strategic position in the country.
Alhaji Mohammed stated this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Information
According to him, “I want to draw your attention and that of the members to the fact that the ministry of information as usual has been dealt a very heavy card in this year’s budget allocation.
“In 2022, the National Assembly approved N2.5 billion for this ministry as capital that is for both for information and culture of which N1 billion belongs to information.
“This year the capital provisions for the entire ministry of information and culture is 869 million of which only 345 is for the information arm.
“I fully understand the economic challenges the country is facing, but I don’t agree that the ministry of information and culture, at this critical time, should have less, actually, it should have more.
“And this is because it is in times of challenges, hardship and headways like this that we need the ministry of information, in particular, not only to chronicle what we have achieved despite the last of funds, but to combat fake news, disinformation, hate speech which today has attained quite a height threatening our very existence as a country.
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“While I agree that our sources of revenue dwindled but there is no better time to have more money for the ministry of information and culture.
“I did argue this even at the level of the executive that even if we stop any capital project today. If the ministry of information and culture is given enough money, we can chronicle and tell the world every day what we have achieved in the last eight years.
“This N345 million capital expenditure, I don’t know what to do with it. I don’t know where to start.
“This is a ministry that is used to setting flagship programmes like town hall meetings, visits to federal government projects, series, and documentaries.
“The allocation to the ministry of information and culture is less than what some states receive.”
This came just as the Committee rejected the N345 million capital expenditure proposed for the ministry.
Speaking, the Chairman of the committee, Hon Olusegun Odebunmi, said “with the submission of everybody here, it is like the budget of the ministry of information is one way or the order rejected because this is improper, it is not enough for an agency, the ministry of information to perform its functions effectively.
He assured that the committee would do the needful because of the importance of the ministry.
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