The committee rejected the capital allocation of N1.2 billion in the 2025 budget for the ministry of information and the NOA.
The House of Representatives committee on information and national orientation has criticised the ₦8.7 billion budget allocation for the ministry of information and national orientation in 2025.
Lawmakers unanimously declared the capital component of N1.2 billion in the budge as grossly inadequate and resolved to make a case for the ministry before the relevant leadership.
Speaking during the budget defence on Wednesday, chairman of the committee, Rep. Olusola Fatoba (APC-Ekiti) praised President Bola Tinubu for the increase in 2024 budget but expressed dismay at the allocation to the ministry in 2025.
“We want to use this medium to thank President Tinubu for the budget increase for the ministry of 2024, but to our greatest surprise the 2025 budget falls far below expectations.The amount allocated to the ministry in 2024 when the national budget was N28.7 trillion, is higher than the N8.2 billion allocated in 2025 when the national budget is N49.7 trillion,” he said adding 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.
He also acknowledged that the committee was only able to perform few oversight to a few agencies in 2024 but promised more oversight in this year 2025.
Deputy chairman of the committee, Rep. Felix Nwaeke ( PDP Rivers), said that the committee is not happy with the meager allocation. He suggested that the committee should reject the budget and make a case before the leadership of the House for an increase.
Rep. Ismail Tijani (APC-Kwara) said 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 projected, saying that funds cannot meet the demands of the ministry.
In his contribution, Rep. Akin Rotimi (APC Ekiti ), 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 down line of other agencies.
Rotimi suggested that all allocation for information and orientation in the 2025 budget for other agencies should be domiciled in the ministry of information where the expertise resides.
Rep. Amobi Ogah (LP Abia) criticized the envelope 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.
The committee chair, Fatoba emphasized that the only capital component of the information ministry is being rejected but promised the committee will work together with the senate to ensure its increment.
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Earlier, the minister of information, Mr. Mohammed Idris, had disclosed that the 2025 budget allocated to the ministry was grossly inadequate for the ministry to carry out its mandate.
Idris said his ministry is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that information that Nigerians require from the government is made available to them.
According to him, this should be timely, accurate, honest and in a consistent manner; that is what the ministry and all of its agencies are doing at all times.
He said that the ministry was also looking forward to consolidating the ministerial briefing where ministers will appear to inform Nigerians what they are doing and get feedback from Nigerians.
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 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 the government.
“Now there is a portal that we have also strengthened by the way information coming from these ministries coming in, so that Nigerians can be better informed 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 on policy awareness, and we can also take feedback from the Nigerian public.
“The President has given us this mandate, that is not enough for the government to be seen to be building roads, it is not enough for the government to be seen to be constructing hospitals.
“It is not enough for the government to be seen to be putting money in education. We need to inculcate the right values to our citizenry, especially the young ones, so that Nigerians can reclaim, once again, the lost glory.”
