Funds approved by President Bola Tinubu for key federal media and information agencies have remained unreleased for more than a week.
The delay follows an alleged refusal by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Binyerem Ukaire, to approve payment files. Several senior officials familiar with the matter said Mrs Ukaire withheld approval after agency heads declined her request to appear before her.
The officials said Mrs Ukaire requested detailed presentations from the agencies. They said she wanted updates on their activities, ongoing projects and plans for using the funds.
The president reportedly approved the intervention about three weeks ago. The funds were meant for agencies under the ministry, including the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), the Voice of Nigeria (VON), the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
Several heads of the affected agencies confirmed the development. They requested anonymity because they feared victimisation.
One agency head said the delay had stalled projects and disrupted other activities. Another official said the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, had intervened to resolve the disagreement.
The official, however, alleged that Mrs Ukaire insisted that agency heads must appear before her. The official said she would not approve the payment files until they made presentations.
“We cannot engage her. She can ask us for updates on our activities. But she cannot mandate that we come and give presentations to her, as she is demanding. We are not sure what she really wants.
We cannot indulge her by going to see her because we’re not answerable to her. She’s frustrating the sector because ongoing projects cannot continue, and even the intervention of the minister has not helped the matter,” the official said.
The agency head said chief executives of the organisations report to their governing boards and supervising minister.
The official added that they do not report to the permanent secretary.
