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Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed yesterday openly disowned the N398 million being part of the budget estimates by his ministry meant for the purchase of computers, saying the figure was strange to him.
Reacting to questions during budget session before the Senate committee on Information on the N230 million and N168 million voted for the purchase of computers for the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and the Film and Video Censors Board, the minister said he was not aware.
“No, that is not possible. That was definitely not what was proposed, this cannot be,” the minister protested even as an official of the ministry noted that only N5 million was proposed for the item in the original budget of the NFVCB.
But the chairman of the Committee, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe said, “The difference between N5million and N168m is huge.”
According to Leadership, Managing Director of NAN, Ima Niboro also expressed shock at the N230million for the purchase of the same item as captured under “Capital Votes” in the 2016 budget of NAN.
A member of the committee, Senator Ben Murray Bruce had also expressed misgivings about the fact that little or no attention was paid to the core functions of the ministry and parastatals under it at a crucial time when Nigeria was at war in the North East.
“I want to ask passionately that the Ministry re-submit their budget, taking care of the North East", he said
Source: Leadership
Reacting to questions during budget session before the Senate committee on Information on the N230 million and N168 million voted for the purchase of computers for the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and the Film and Video Censors Board, the minister said he was not aware.
“No, that is not possible. That was definitely not what was proposed, this cannot be,” the minister protested even as an official of the ministry noted that only N5 million was proposed for the item in the original budget of the NFVCB.
But the chairman of the Committee, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe said, “The difference between N5million and N168m is huge.”
According to Leadership, Managing Director of NAN, Ima Niboro also expressed shock at the N230million for the purchase of the same item as captured under “Capital Votes” in the 2016 budget of NAN.
A member of the committee, Senator Ben Murray Bruce had also expressed misgivings about the fact that little or no attention was paid to the core functions of the ministry and parastatals under it at a crucial time when Nigeria was at war in the North East.
“I want to ask passionately that the Ministry re-submit their budget, taking care of the North East", he said
Source: Leadership
