Nigerians, be ready for several propaganda mercenaries that will be engaged to deceive you. They will be here on NL, facebook, twitter, TV, radios; many will write just to launder govt's image because they have been paid.

Despite an economy in recession, the federal government plans to spend over one billion Naira on public relations and media lobby in 2017, a review of proposed allocations to the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture has revealed.

According to the proposals submitted last month to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, the ministry wants to spend one billion, three hundred and fifty two million, one hundred thousand and twenty three thousand, nine hundred and eight Naira (N1,352,123,908) on schemes to influence citizens’ opinion, lobby local and foreign media and other public relations targets.

The ministry is headed by Lai Mohammed, a former spokesperson of the ruling All Progressives Congress. The ministry’s total budget proposal of N49,464,302,080 for 2017 is higher than the N45,162,776,886 it got last year.

It appears the funds budgeted for PR and other media targets, as well as some expenditures like “governance and institutional reforms” proposed to gulp N1.9 billion, are principally responsible for the increase.

In the 2017 budget proposal, Mr. Mohammed’s ministry proposes to spend N100 million on “foreign media PR/ lobby consultancy” and another N100 million to “interact with stakeholders” which, according to the ministry, include the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Nigerian Union of Journalists, bloggers, online publishers and Newspapers Publishers Association of Nigeria.

While the government wants to use N100 million to organize “quarterly opinion polls”, it also budgets N270 million for town hall meetings.

The government also proposes to commit a sum N409, 240,600 on “grassroots public enlightenment campaign on government policies and programmes (including cost of production of materials and IEC on government achievements).”

Also, in 2017, Nigerians could see a lot of Mr. Mohammed or his paid nominees moving from one newspaper house to another and appearing on radio as well as television programmes hosted by “influencers and analysts.”

For this plan, the government wants N180 million to be spent by the Ministry of Information and Culture on “ministerial media appearances with influencers and analysts on TV, radio, social and print media.”

And there is another N192,883,308 budgeted for “publicity and advertisements”.
It is not clear what the government plans to do with hundreds of millions budgeted to “lobby” foreign media, interact with journalists or facilitate the minister’s media appearances with analysts and influencers.

Pressed to comment on the proposals, Mr. Mohammed’s special assistant, Segun Adeyemi, declined, asking our correspondent to contact the minister instead. But Mr. Mohammed could not be reached on phone.

An official in the ministry, however, pledged that the funds would not to be diverted. The official said the government had a responsibility to ensure citizens understand the policies of the government and appreciate its achievement so that the government would not be cast in bad light by the opposition.

The official insisted “it is barely possible for any official to corruptly enrich himself or herself in the present government.”

The Muhammadu Buhari administration came to power on the back of promises to tackle corruption and wastes that constitute barriers to utilisation of funds for developmental objectives.
A further review of the ministry’s breakdown however revealed there are at least two instances of budgeting for one item twice.

The ministry proposes N44,181,840 for “purchase of office furniture and fittings” in line 23010112; and in another place, line FMOI&32443591, the ministry plans to spend another N83,500,000 on ‘purchase of office furniture and equipment.”

Then, in line 23010105, the ministry makes provision for “purchase of motor vehicles” with the sum of N97,200,000. But the same item – “purchase of motor vehicles” – also comes in line FM01&04520205 and gets N97,100,000 vote.

These repetitions and other curious budgetary proposals are some of the issues Nigerians would expect the National Assembly to review in the proposed budget.

Note the last 2 paragraphs, repetition may be counted as mistakes, but how come the prices of the same items are different? Bogus items just inserted into the budget that will be funded with loans.
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/219140-despite-recession-nigerian-govt-budgets-n1-billion-pr-media-lobby.html

so how much of these money would accrue to nairaland owner, linda ikeji,sarrki etc? that's a serious question, pause and think over it.

Media Government

Budget of fraud

greenermodels:
so how much of these money would accrue to nl owner, linda ikeji,sarrki etc? that's a serious question, pause and think over it.

Sarrki My brother come and tell us how much is your annual pay from this huge media allocation .... So we can hangout in Abj on New year Day. I heard Moscow_Underground 35 Ademola Adetokunbo, Wuse2 club is the new bae here in Abj.

Join me to appreciate God for His grace and rescue.They attacked me at about 2.30am this morning. They came into my room while I was sleeping. I heard their sound as they moved across the room towards me. As I got up... one of them came at me to attack, I had no choice but to defend myself. I quickly struck. The second one also jumped at me. I couldn't believe what was happening; everything was happening so fast. My brother heard the chaotic sound that was emerging from d room and was wondering what was happening. I eventually hit the second one too; my hands were stained with blood. They laid still and I wondered if they were still alive but when I looked at them on the floor, I found out that one was still moving. I struck again and this time I hit harder with anger. That was how I killed the two mosquitoes!!!

Lalasticlala, this will make a good breakfast

So billions here; and them dey pay my guys Dropshot, Sarrki, Ngenekwenu etc. 10k recession Don nack Gbawe; em Don find another job; the 10k no reach am again.

Atiku2019:



Sarrki My brother come and tell us how much is your annual pay from this huge media allocation .... So we can hangout in Abj on New year Day. I heard Moscow_Underground 35 Ademola Adetokunbo, Wuse2 club is the new bae here in Abj.

but you should first tell us how much you're collecting from Atiku to be laundering his image here.

tafrica:
Lalasticlala, this will make a good breakfast

wake me up if this ever makes it to the front-page, social media influencers indeed.

By the time buhari is finish with this country. Yemen and Somalia go be like Dubai for our eye.

greenermodels:
wake me up if this ever makes it to the front-page, social media influencers indeed.

Sir, do you have any issue with it making FP? Or you think Mod will never push it to FP?

tafrica:


Sir, do you have any issue with it making FP? Or you think Mod will never push it to FP?

ha ha, so you're yet to get what we have been saying codedly here, the nairaland owner and blog owners like linda ikeji would be accused of been among those collecting some of this money from the government to protect their image and promote their interests. i hope i won't get banned for telling you this plainly. some of this guys always 24hours online on nairaland defending the government are paid agents.

lalasticlala and mynd44


frontpage pls

tafrica:


Now I get you. Yes, they are paid agents here on NL, we obviously have some as Mods here xef. But we as citizens don't need to be paid before we talk about this govt's mismanagement.
Wasting our scarce resources on propagandists which should have been channelled to better use.

check out the useless threads making front-page like "Duncan mighty amounts ladies backsides on stage" while a very important thread like this is not on front-page.

greenermodels:
check out the useless threads making front-page like "Duncan mighty amounts ladies backsides on stage" while a very important thread like this is not on front-page.

Maybe they will push it to FP by night when most people have gone sleeping

People like sarrki will go bananas next year now I know the cause of their lunacy

Lord! bloggers are becoming parts and parcel of our problems in this country. their cut is definitely in this budget

but y is dis government rulling like this

media lobby

journalism in Nigeria is dead

This CHANGE is a JOKE

It isn't easy to lie. You must cover lies with lies.
Am I not right Lai?

hmmm...

Padding everywhere!

The problem is not about the amount budgeted, but UTILIZING it judiciously with maximum Output

I smell lies..

, This is an evil government and a very evil country, look at they want to use to buy cars appearing twice. Yet they criticized oduah for doing same, the whole media were at alert last dispensation airing propaganda and useless protest and parochial views, they have gone mute now. This is a cursed country.

Sarrki
Ngenekwenu
Demdem
Dropshot
Modath

Una money don show o.....

Only the most gullible region will even consider voting dem next election.