FG To Spend N303m On Typewriters & PR In 2014

The ministries of Information and Interior  are to spend N303m on image laundering abroad and typewriters in 2014.

The sum is part of the  details of the 2014 budget proposals submitted to the National Assembly by the Minister of  Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The  Information ministry will  spend N300m on external publicity/media insertions in foreign print   and electronic media in selected cities.

According the  budget, the money will also be spent on engagement with foreign news agencies, and production of specialised publicity materials for foreign  audience.

The  details also showed that the   Interior ministry  would  spend N3m on the purchase of typewriters during the year.

Another curious aspect of the ministry’s  budget  is  its   plan to  spend N3m on Human Immunodeficiency Virus.  It also intends to spend N3m on the refurbishment and upgrade of its intercom extension and N5m on letter bomb detectors.

The budget’s details also indicate  that the development of  social media platforms and networking with other platforms will cost   the Information   ministry    N50m  in 2014.

The production of calendars and dairies  by the ministry will gulp N201, 347,699 the same year.

Nationwide media tour of Federal Government projects and hosting of town hall meetings by the Minister of Information  is billed to cost N241m.

The Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, had towards the end of 2012 initiated the Good Governance Tour which has so far taken selected media professionals, public servants and civil society groups to four  out of the six geopolitical zones in  the country.

The tour ran into controversy when Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, distanced themselves from it.

Oshiomhole, in particular, contended that he did not need the team to validate that he was working for the people of Edo State.

It was not certain as of  press time if  the nationwide media tour mentioned  in the budget is another initiative of the ministry or a continuation of the Good Governance Tour.

Another N130m will be spent on ministerial platforms and press briefings on national events while the development of a National Policy on Information and the hosting of the National Council on Information are to gulp N30m.

For the production of various publications on government policies and programmes, the ministry plans to spend N65m in 2014 .Public enlightenment and mobilisation on Vision   2020 in collaboration with Ministries, Departments and Agencies and external bodies on the transformation agenda of the government will gulp another N55m.

The ministry plans to spend N80m on human capital development, N10m on the promotion of Made-in-Nigeria products and N35m on ‘capacity building for budget monitoring of projects and financial monitoring in line with transformation agenda’.

Other major expenditures of the ministry include N25m for the production of jingles on progress made on the transformation agenda, N51m for the purchase of digital machines, and N30m on public enlightenment and national security campaigns awareness.

Various sums of money will also be spent by the ministry on the development of web portals and construction of Local Area Networks.

Curiously,  the sum of N214, 242,040  is contained in the budget for  the rehabilitation of police stations and barracks by the  Nigeria Immigration Service.