Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has expressed disgust over the proposed procurement of computers for the News Agency of Nigeria, and the Film and Video Censors Board at the sum of N398 million.
Mohammed, while defending his ministry’s budget before the Senate Committe on Information, noted that the said amount is strange to him.
According to the former spokesman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, it is impossible to purchase computers for the two agencies at that high rate.
“No, that is not possible. That was definitely not what was proposed, this cannot be,” Mohammed 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.
In the proposed budget of the ministry for 2016, N230 million was voted for the purchase of the computers for NAN, while N168 million for the Film and Video Censors Board.
But the chairman of the Committee, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe argued that “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 his agency.
2016 Budget: N398m For Computers Ridiculous—Lai Mohammed https://t.co/LfVz6bRp7o