#Budgetofcorruption: Lai Mohammed denies padding Ministry’s budget by N398m

The dirty deals leading up to the packaging and presentation of the 2016 budget got messier yesterday as Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed joined the Minister of Health to also disown the budget estimates by his ministry meant for the purchase of computers.

At his budget defence session before the Senate Committe on Information, the Minister said that the total sum of N398 million proposed in the budget for purchase of computers was not initiated by him.

The said N398 million is reported to be money voted for the purchase of computers for the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and the Film and Video Censors Board, at N230 million and N168 million respectively.

Astonished, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had said, “No, that is not possible. That was definitely not what was proposed, this cannot be,” even as his aides noted that only N5 million was proposed for the item in the original budget of the NFVCB.

The chairman of the Committee, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe being not amused retorted, “The difference between N5million and N168m is huge.”

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.

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now