This is the fourth piece in the #SaatahBudgetSeries. We’ve weighed in on and analysed the budget of the Presidency, the Federal Ministry of Defence and the Federal Ministry of Foreign and Intergovernmental Affairs. Today, we move to the next budget in the series; the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture—that’s the Ministry headed by Lai Mohammed, the former APC spokesman.
45,162,778,886, that’s the total allocation given to the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture. From this amount, 39,172,778,886 will be spent on “Recurrent Expenditure” while 5,990,000,000 will be spent on “Capital Expenditure.”
Before we progress, let me lay out the agencies and institutions that fall under the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture. They are as follows: Federal Ministry of Information and Culture—HQTRS, Nigerian Television Authority, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, News Agency of Nigeria, Voice of Nigeria, Nigerian Film Corporation, National Broadcasting Commission, Nigeria Press Council, National Film and Video Censors Board, Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, National Council for Arts and Culture, Centre for Black African Arts and Culture, National Troupe of Nigeria, National Theatre, National Gallery of Art, National War Museum (Umuahia), National Institute of Hospitality and Tourism Development Studies, National Institute for Culture Orientation, Institute of Archaeological and Museum Studies, and National Orientation Agency.
FEDERAL MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND CULTURE
Let’s start with the 210,000,000 budgeted by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture for the “Construction/Provision of Recreational Facilities.” I see this particular item as unnecessary and an avenue for corrupt dealings. Compare that with the 2,995,239 the Ministry of Environment will spend on the “Construction/Provision of Recreational Facilities” for the Cross River National Park. 563,616,472 will also be spent on the “Procurement of Specialized Printing Machine, Equipment and Accessories.” Now, here is my problem with this particular line item; “Specialized Printing Machine” is a vague description of what is to be purchased. With such huge amount budgeted for that item, it would be good to know exactly what type of “Specialized Printing Machine” we’re buying. Is it one to be used in the printing of foreign currencies or letterheads? (Don’t laugh), we would love to know. Making it vague doesn’t help in any way.
NTA will spend 23,520,000 to “Migrate from Analog to Digital Transmission.” I might be wrong, but I think NTA has been “Migrating” from “analog to digital transmission” since I was born. It would be a thing of great joy if they migrate successfully and completely this year—I’m quite sure “analog” has gotten tired of them hanging around.
The News Agency of Nigeria will spend 230,822,823 on the “Purchase of Computers.” You would think they have been operating in the pre-computer era and are trying to “migrate.” Well, let’s compare with what the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology will spend on the “Purchase of Computers,” 91,394,900. In essence, the News Agency of Nigeria will spend 250% more to “Purchase Computers” than the Ministry of Science and Technology. Just in case you’re wondering what the News Agency of Nigeria is, know that they’re just a state-run news reporting agency.
The Voice of Nigeria (VON) will spend 361,408,755 for the “Construction/Provision of Electricity.” The budget for the National Rural Electrification Agency shows that it can use that same amount to electrify 15 communities in Enugu State.
You see the National Film and Video Censors Board, err… I don’t know what is happening there and I’m not sure they do either. They’ll spend 5,866,500 on “Trainings on Public Sector Reforms, TSA, Federal Budgeting and Performance Monitoring on Zero Based, Fixed Asset Management, Taxation and Public Sector Treasury Management under Zero Based Budgeting.” You’re probably trying to figure out if this is the Ministry of Budget Planning or Finance, I was wondering the same thing too till I found out that they budgeted another 634,000 for the same thing. The people who work here need to explain to us what their job is. The National Film and Video Censors Board budgeted 1,668,000 for “Legal Advising, Law Library Maintenance, Prosecution of Cases and Defence of the Boards’ Activities. Issuance of Demand Notices.” The amount budgeted for this item seems moderate, but here is the thing; the people who made this budget probably forgot that there was a separate 9,550,663 for “Legal Services.”
The National Tourism Development Corporation has budgeted 338,117,300 for the “Purchase of Recreational Facilities.” That’s it. They didn’t tell us what kind of recreational facilities, how many, or where they’ll/it’ll be located. They also budgeted a separate 30,000,000 for the “Construction/Provision of Recreational Facilities.”
The National Commission on Museum and Monuments will spend 193,910,995 on “Research and Development” and another 134,697,184 on “Monitoring and Evaluation.”
The National Council on Arts and Culture will spend 23,512,000 on “Anniversaries/Celebrations” while 42,647,500 will be spent on the “Operation Cost of the Programme.”
National Troupe of Nigeria will spend 140,911,157 to “Purchase Computers,” more than what the Ministry of Science and Technology will spend on same item in their budget, 91,394,900.
The Institute of Museum and Archaeological Studies (Jos) will spend its ENTIRE Capital budget on “Electricity Charges.”
The entire capital budget of the National Orientation Agency will be spent on the “Construction/Provision of Office Buildings,” all 468,379,798 of it.
We’ve come to the end of the fourth part of this series. I feel this budget has to be totally rewritten and a large part of it entirely expunged. What we have is a budget made by people who seem to be in a bubble when it comes to the economic situation the country finds itself in at the moment. That needs to change. We need a budget that is written according to our scale of preference as a nation.
As I leave you to reason accordingly based on what you’ve just read, as usual, I’ll add a little in-between: The Nigerian Immigration Service will spend 450,000,000 on “Solar Powered Boreholes.” Have a wonderful day!
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Saatah Nubari is on Twitter @Saatah
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