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The management of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has denied the allegation that it gave N300 million to Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) contrary to a speculation made by an online publication.
The NCC in a statement signed by its Director, Public Affairs, Dr Henry Nkemadu, said that the information was entirely false.
The statement said in order to put the records straight, no agency of the Federal Government gives subvention to another agency as 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.
“Our budget doesn’t contain any allocation for subvention let alone granting same to a sister’ agency.
“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 Department and Agencies (MDA) come from there,” NCC explained.
According to Nkemadu, NITDA as an agency of government also draws its budget and spends same to execute their own programmes as they deem fit.
He noted that since the advent of the new administration, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, 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.
He disclosed that the minister 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 on issues of Right of Way for expanding the telecommunications infrastructure and declaring telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). Nkemadu, therefore, posited that “we did not receive any directive from the Honorable 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.”
