Bayelsa State Government views with shock and concern the false report published by online media outfit, SaharaReporters, about the state’s outgoing year’s budgetary estimates.
The report, which SaharaReporters claimed emanated from Tracka, a civil society budget monitoring organisation, is a bouquet of falsehood and misrepresentations.
Some gullible individuals, including a well-known presenter with a broadcast channel, who obviously easily believed the report, have posted online comments that are outrightly objectionable.
These individuals and indeed SaharaReporters did not only display a lack of diligence and unprofessionalism but also engaged in spreading fake news.
Tracka and SaharaReporters claimed that the Bayelsa State Government earmarked a huge sum of N700 million for the purchase of only 50 Torchlights and 100 Walkie-Talkies in its 2024 budget.
The state’s 2024 Approved Budget is a public document. To promote public accountability, the State Government submitted its consolidated budget document to the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) in an Excel format.
Sadly, in their haste to do mischief and pour dirt on the government, the purveyors of the fake news did not do a proper check on the items under the appropriate sub-head on the Excel document. If Tracka or even SaharaReporters did, they would have seen that there were other items apart from torchlight and walkie-talkie on that sub-head.
Those familiar with the Excel application know that it often limits the number of characters that can be displayed.
For the avoidance of doubt, the listed security items in the approved budget estimates of N700 million do not only cover the purchase of torchlights and walkie-talkie but included items as 2,000 heated bullet-proof vests, 500 units of pepper sprays, 500 Biometric Scanners, 200 Tasers, Metal Detectors, Firearms among other items.
The other figures quoted in the publication for purchase of Hilux vans and Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) as well as purchase of state-of-the-art Printing Press for the state newspaper corporation are duly provided for in the 2024 budget and should not be a subject of controversy.
The state’s budget government, therefore, demands a retraction of the report by SaharaReporters and an unreserved apology from it and Tracka.
The attempt to twist the contents of a public document is purely an irresponsible act that is very condemnable. An outfit that monitors public expenditure and tracks accountability is not expected to engage in such a disdainful act of misinformation and spreading of falsehood.
The Governor Douye Diri administration has so far displayed a high level of transparency and open governance that has endeared it to people of the state and others who follow its performance since February 2020 that it assumed office. The government remains committed to the ideals of good governance, transparency, accountability and peaceful co-existence.
