By Danfulani Dauda
The Taraba State House of Assembly on Friday allegedly expressed concerns over the Ministry of Information’s 2025 budget estimate.
PERISCOPE NIGERIA gathered that the Assembly’s Committee on Information, Culture, and Tourism found several discrepancies in the budget, including incompatible figures and unrealistic allocations.
“We can’t understand why five million naira only (N5,000,000.00) will be estimated to establish a complete live studio. How is this feasible?” asked Hon Nelson, Chairman of the Committee. “We also don’t understand why the whole Government Printing Press will generate only six hundred thousand (N600,000.00) in a complete year.”
The Commissioner of Information, Barr Zainab Usman Jalingo, was asked to return to the Ministry of Budget and Planning to reconcile the issues. The committee emphasised the importance of getting the budget right, as the Ministry of Information plays a critical role in the state’s affairs.
“Permanent Secretary, you must seat up. We want to get it right in 2025. We want to see people patronizing government media houses and other establishments more than the private owned Organisations in Taraba,” Hon Nelson said. “Every estimate you do, consider that you are not doing it for yourself but for the people of the State.”
The commissioner attributed the discrepancies to internal mechanisms in place to reposition the government printing press, but declined to disclose further details. When questioned about the printing press’ performance, the commissioner said there were only two jobs in a complete year, prompting Hon Nelson to ask, “Commissioner, what really is happening at the printing press?”
