The Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation has rejected the ₦8.9 billion budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Information and National Orientation for 2025, saying the fund is grossly inadequate.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Kenneth Eze, turned down the budget proposal when the Information Minister, Mohammed Idris, appeared before the committee to defend the ministry’s allocation.

Eze stated that the decision to reject the budget was unanimous and had been adopted by all members of the committee.

Highlighting some of the programmes the ministry hopes to embark on, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris said the ministry would require at least N50 billion to function effectively.

As of December 31, 2024, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has signed a total of 5,481 Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O), the Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, has said.

This is 2,919 less than the total number of C-of-O printed and signed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) from 2010 to 2023 (13 years).

In a statement on Tuesday, Olayinka said; “the moment necessary payments are made, land allottees can now get their C-of-O within two weeks.”

He said “one of the reasons land allottees do not find it compelling to pay for their C-of-O is because when they pay, they wait for years.

But in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government, that has changed now.

“Even uploading of necessary information to show when a C-of-O is collected as well as details on the collector that used to take months, is now done within 72 hours.

”Giving details of C-of-O produced and signed in the FCT in the last 15 years, the Minister’s Spokesperson said; “From May 2010 to May 2015, total of 5,655 Certificates of Occupancy were produced and signed.

“From May 2015 to May 2019, a total of 1,174 Certificates of Occupancy were produced and signed, while 1,571 were done between May 2019 and May 2023.

“Meanwhile, from May 2023 that President Tinubu assumed office till December 31, 2024, a total of 5,481 Certificates of Occupancy were produced and signed by the FCT Minister.

“Also, in the next few weeks, land allottees whose C-of-O are ready for collection will begin to receive auto-generated SMS because it has been discovered that most of them don’t even know that their title documents are ready.”

The Ekiti State government has set up storage facilities in different parts of the state, with the sole aim of buying farm produce from farmers during harvest season and storing them for release during period of scarcity.

This ccomes with a move to ensuring food sufficiency and availability in the state.

The State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, who on Monday led some officials on inspection of one of the storage facilities for agricultural produce in Ado- Ekiti, said building the storage facilities is one of the government’s plans to avert the food scarcity that was experienced in the state last year.

Governor Oyebanji said government’s immediate focus is to address food shortage, reduce post-harvest losses and ensure food sufficiency all year round across the state.

Speaking with Journalists shortly after the inspection, Governor Oyebanji who was accompanied on the inspection by his Chief of Staff, Mr Niyi Adebayo, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Boluwade Ebenezer, Commissioner for Trade, investment and cooperatives, Mrs Tayo Adeola, said the initiative was in line with the directive of President Bola Tinubu to the State Governors to prioritize food security as critical step in combating hunger across the country.

The Governor, explained that the state cultivated over 6,000 hectares of farmland in 2024, adding that the warehouse for storing food crops was a major challenge, hence the decision of his administration to provide storage facilities this year.

The facilities, according the Governor would help in regulating prices of food items in the eventuality of food scarcity.

While expressing his delight that a large chunk of the farm produce were bought from young farmers under the Bring Back Youth in Agriculture programme , the Governor assured that his administration remains committed to alleviating hunger and achieving food security in the state.

“We promised Ekiti State good governance and like you said we have been trying to work that talk. The President directed that each state should embark on strategy of food security and in Ekiti State in the last one year, we have started with phase one of a very deliberate attempt to ensure that we prow ourselves out of hunger, last year we cumulatively cultivated over 6,000 hectares of land in the state, all planted.

“Going forward, we want to ensure that, those crops that we buy from the youth, store them there and we will release to the market when there is increase in prices of food so that we can moderate prices”. The Governor stated .

In his own remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture and food security, Mr Ebenezer Boluwade said that the goal is not only to tackle hunger but to also create opportunities for youth in agriculture.

While explaining that the initiative would ensure steady food supply throughout the year, Mr Boluwade said government would encourage farmers, particularly the youths in agriculture to increase production, knowing that their produce would not go to waste and government is willing and ready to buy from them.