N-EAST: Senate turns down budget proposal for Information Ministry

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THE Senate, yesterday, refused to treat the
budget proposal for the Federal Ministry of Information
due to lack of provision for media propaganda in the
North East.
The Senate Committee on Information, which took the
decision during the ministry’s budget defence, insisted
that the ministry must not only rework but also re-present
its budget with provisions for effective media propaganda
in the North East.
The committee on information, headed by Senator
Enyinaya Abaribe, PDP, Abia South, directed that the
ministry should bring a budget that will cater for the
needs of its media agencies.
Abaribe’s directive was sequel to the observation raised
by a member of the committee and senator representing
Bayelsa North, Ben Bruce, who had decried the non
inclusion of budget for media operations in the North
East, in the wake of the Boko Haram insurgency.
Bruce, in his remark, had pointed out that during the
Nigerian Civil War, the media was effectively used to
propagate relevant information.
He therefore appealed that the Nigerian Television
Authority, NTA, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria,
FRCN, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, and Voice of
Nigeria, VON, should go and add the required component.
He said: “It would have made more sense for the
information budget of the Army to be given to the Ministry
of Information to equip these stations to be used by the
military as a source of communication.
“For instance, if there is going to be an air raid in a
particular area, we can warn the citizens to stay off that
particular area."

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