The Nigerian Federal Government has allocated a budget of N138,066,187 for combating fake news and printing calendars.
News About Nigeria learnt that part of the sum will also be used to facilitate media appearances for ministers and organise engagement with social media influencers among others.
The money, which was budgeted through the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, is contained in the details of the 2024 Appropriation Bill currently before the National Assembly.
A breakdown of the 2024 budget before the National Assembly shows that N24.5m has been allocated for a “special enlightenment campaign on government’s programmes and policies, testimonial series to gauge the impact of government policies on the citizenry.
The breakdown also showed that the Federal government would spend N40m to produce calendars while another N30m would be used for external publicity and engagement with foreign media.
Also, N20.7m was allocated for media interactions by ministers, influencers, and analysts on print and social media.
The budget breakdown further shows that N21.7m would be spent on the development of social media platforms and networking with other platforms.
It can be recalled that President Bola Tinubu submitted the 2024 appropriation budget to the National Assembly last week.
The N27.5 trillion budget which was presented to a joint session of the National Assembly last Wednesday, is currently undergoing scrutiny and deliberation for final approval.
During the presentation of the budget titled, “The Budget of Renewed Hope,” the President said that the proposed budget seeks to achieve job-rich economic growth, macro-economic stability, a better investment environment, enhanced human capital development, as well as poverty reduction and greater access to social security for Nigerians.
