‘I don’t know what to do with it’ – Lai Mohammed kicks over Information Ministry’s budget

By Adeleye Kunle

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has expressed displeasure over the reduction of budgetary allocation to his ministry in the 2023 Appropriation Bill.

Lai Mohamed disclosed this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Information on Wednesday to defend the budgetary proposal for the Ministry of Information and Culture.

The minister began by saying, “I want to draw your attention and that of the members to the fact that the Ministry of Information has been dealt a very heavy card in this year’s budgetary allocation.

“This year, the capital provision for the entire Ministry of Information and Culture is N869m, of which only N345m is for the information arm.”

He further claimed that the allocation to his Ministry is less than what some States receive, saying he felt helpless with the reduced budgetary allocation.

“This N345m capital expenditure, I don’t know what to do with it; I don’t know where to start,” he said.

However, the Chairman of the committee, Segun Odebunmi, and other members agreed with the minister’s claim.

Odebunmi noted that the budget is not enough for the Ministry of Information to perform its functions, following the submissions from other members of the House Committee on Information