By Omobayo Azeez
Contrary to speculation by an online publication that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) gave N300 million to Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the commission has stated that the information is mere falsehood.
This was expressed Saturday in a statement by NCC management signed by Henry Nkemadu, director, public affairs.
The statement said in order to put the records straight, no agency of the federal government gives subvention to another agency.
By extant laws of the government, every agency makes its budget and gets approval for appropriation from the National Assembly and such budgets are spent according to the appropriation of the National Assembly, NCC management has explained.
It reiterated that budget of the commission does not contain any allocation for subvention let alone granting same to a sister agency.
According to Nkemadu, “we cannot create a provision in our budget for another agency to implement. Subventions to all agencies are done by the federal government with resources domiciled in the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). Even salaries to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) come from there.”
He further stressed that NITDA as an agency of government also draws its budget and spends same to execute its own programmes as it deems fit.
He said since the advent of the new administration, Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, has always encouraged a working relationship and close synergy between all the parastatals under the purview of the ministry and not cross-funding of any of the parastatals.
Pantami has also facilitated support at the highest levels of government to programmes and activities of the commission, especially in facilitating meetings with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on issues of Right of Way (RoW) for expanding the telecommunications infrastructure and declaring telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), according to the director.
“We did not receive any directive from the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, on funding any activity of NITDA and no approval was given in that regard.
“Whoever thinks so simply threw caution to the wind by rolling up speculative information that we know nothing about let alone implementing.
