The Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation has rejected the Ministry of Information and National Orientation’s N8 billion 2025 budget.

The committee chairman, Emeka Eze, during the budget defence on Tuesday in Abuja, said the budgetary provision for the ministry was grossly inadequate.

Mr Eze also said the committee would summon the Minister of Budget and National Planning to discuss how the ministry’s budget can be improved.

Meanwhile, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, has recommended the upward review of the budget from N8.9 billion to N1.5 trillion.

Ms Akpoti, during the budget defence, said the upward review would enable the ministry to deliver on its mandate effectively.

According to her, the N8.9 billion 2025 budget for the ministry is grossly inadequate.

“Budgeting about N8.9 billion for the Ministry of Information and National Orientation in Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million people, is a child’s play.

“South Africa’s budget in 2024 for their ministry, similar to that of Information and National Orientation in Nigeria, was R5.1 billion, equivalent to N409 billion.

“If South Africa is budgeting N409 billion for a population of about 50 million, Nigeria, with over 200 million people, should be budgeting about N1.5 trillion for Ministry of Information and National Orientation, if we are really serious.

“It is worrisome that a young Nigerian today feels that the easiest way to make money is through rituals or ‘Yahoo’ as they call it,” she said.

She suggested that the ministry should devise a means to reorient Nigerians, especially the youths, on the values of humanity and self-worth.

She suggested that the Ministry of Information and National Orientation should create a directorate or carry out activities that would focus on the minds of young people to believe in Nigeria.

“There is a need to review the budget of the ministry upward because budgeting below nine billion naira to reorient our people is too poor.

“We are handling one crisis to the other; if it is not religion, it is ethnic. Even gender; we have only four women in the Senate. So, we need to boost the minds of young people to be patriotic and believe in Nigeria.

“So, I think the ministry should be given more time to review the budget upward and incorporate more new projects, taking into consideration young people,” she said.

(NAN)