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Knocks for Fayemi over ministry’s N700m website; Reno dubs it ‘most expensive website in the world’

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Reactions have continued to trail news of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development spending N700 million for a website, as Reno Omokri, former Special Assistant on New Media to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Friday dubbed it “most expensive website in the world” in scathing criticism.

According to him, the claim that such an amount of money was spent for the website was just an excuse to cover up massive corruption in the ministry.

Recall that Kayode Fayemi, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development had revealed that N700 million was spent to develop an Integrated Automation and Interactive GIS Web Portal to improve `Ease-of-Doing-Business in the mining sector.

But reacting on his Facebook page, the former Jonathan aide said, “Did you know that the Buhari administration spent N700 million on a website for the ministry of mines?

“Google it yourself. It is the most expensive website in the world. Maybe you can download money from the site.

“Anti corruption my foot! Mark my words, by the time this man has finished with Nigeria, Merriam Webster dictionary will replace the definition of the word corruption with Buhari’s picture!”

Read also: IKOYI CASH: Magu lied, my client abandoned, ‘living from hand to mouth’- Whistleblower’s lawyer

In Fayemi’s Thursday disclosure in Abuja during the launch of the portal, he had said, “the portal is a cutting edge initiative that leveraged technology for the innovation, efficiency and effectiveness in the mineral sector governance.”

“The overall objective of the project is to increase provision of reliable information and knowledge, to enhance promotion of investments in the sector, using the technology-driven innovation and to increase the sector’s GDP.

“The portal was designed for mining investors to perform business processes such as online mining licences and mineral titles applications, online payment of royalties and fees, database for revenue drive and to block revenue leakages.

“The portal is credible and provides timely information about the mining sector, performs and responds to online queries, business intelligence/analytics, reports and statistical data generation.

“Mining investors could view all existing mining titles and track them anywhere in the world through the portal, access all agencies information, global mining news, live chat and document library, among others.

“Lists of mining operators with valid licences and related minerals trade on private mineral buying centre and renewal of private mineral buying centres could also be accessed through the portal.

“The portal is designed to serve as an input and decision support system to other entities of government MDAs.

“We have spent about N700 million to develop this Integrated Automation and Interactive Geo Information Systems (GIS) Web Portal to improve ‘Ease-of-Doing-Business’ in the mining sector.

“This event is coming at a very auspicious time, on a broad scale; dividends of this administration’s commitment to turning around our economic fortunes’’.

This is not the first time a current serving cabinet member would be embroiled in a website scandal. Recall that Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, was, while being under consideration for ministerial offer, involved in a website scandal from his time as Lagos State Governor.

Fashola was accused of spending N78 million on a website; an allegation he did not refute. His defence during Senate ministerial screening was that he never signed cheques as governor.

 

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