Funds approved by President Bola Tinubu to support the operations of agencies under the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation have been frozen for more than a week without any official explanation, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.
The funds were earmarked for agencies such as the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Voice of Nigeria (VON), National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), all of which are supervised by the ministry.
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PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify the total amount approved by the president about three weeks ago to support the agencies’ operations.
However, multiple sources familiar with the matter said the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Binyerem Ukaire, has refused to approve the payment files because the heads of the agencies allegedly declined her request to make detailed presentations to her on their activities, the status of ongoing projects and how they intend to utilise the funds.
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The sources, who spoke separately to this newspaper, argued that the permanent secretary’s demand is inconsistent with established civil service practice and suggested that her action was improper.
PREMIUM TIMES also contacted several heads of the affected agencies. Those who spoke requested anonymity for fear of victimisation but separately confirmed the development.
One agency head said the delay in releasing the funds has stalled projects and disrupted other official activities across the agencies.
Another said the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, had intervened. Still, the permanent secretary insisted that the heads of the agencies must appear before her and make presentations before she would approve the disbursement.
“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 agency head told PREMIUM TIMES.
The official said heads of agencies are answerable to their boards and their supervising ministers and not to permanent secretaries.
To determine whether the permanent secretary has supervisory authority over the heads of the agencies, PREMIUM TIMES reviewed a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) outlining the relationship between ministries and parastatals.
The circular states that parastatals and government-owned companies are established by law with substantial autonomy and operational flexibility to enable them to provide services efficiently outside the mainstream civil service.
It also provides that supervising ministries should not assume day-to-day management of parastatals.
On financial matters, the circular directs ministries to avoid interfering in the finances of the agencies under their control. It specifically states that ministries should not divert their subventions to unrelated ministry expenditures or require agencies to fund ministry expenses, including guest houses, vehicle fleets or estacode allowances for ministers and ministry officials.
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Although the circular is dated 2 August 1999, this newspaper found no evidence that it has been repealed or replaced.
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mrs Ukaire for clarification, she confirmed that the funds had not yet been released but said the file was being processed.
“The file is undergoing processing,” she wrote in a response to our inquiry.
Delayed releases of budgeted funds have become a recurring challenge for federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) under the Tinubu administration, with several agencies repeatedly complaining that timely cash releases from the federal government do not back approved appropriations.
The delays have forced many MDAs to slow or suspend capital projects, postpone procurement and roll over contracts into subsequent budget cycles.
In several cases, members of the National Assembly have raised concerns during oversight visits that poor budget implementation is being driven not only by inadequate funding but also by delayed cash backing for approved projects.
To address the challenge, the Tinubu administration has on several occasions assured MDAs that it would improve the speed of budget implementation by releasing funds more promptly. Agencies have also been urged to improve procurement planning to enable quicker utilisation of released funds.
Against this backdrop, the delay in processing funds that have already received presidential approval could further compound implementation challenges within the information ministry and its agencies. If the funds remain undisbursed, ongoing projects may be delayed, contractors may face payment backlogs, operational activities could be disrupted, and agencies may struggle to meet performance targets tied to the 2026 budget.
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