Onanuga: Some ministers using personal funds to run their offices + Video

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has stated that some federal ministers have been using their personal funds and resources to support the running of their offices and government activities.

Onanuga made these remarks during an interview on Arise News in response to public criticism regarding the contrasting lifestyles of government officials and citizens facing economic hardship.

He addressed the widespread public sentiment that Nigerians are being asked to “tighten their belts” while public officials live in luxury.

He rejected this claim, noting that during the previous budget cycle, several ministers openly stated that they had not received their allocated capital funds.

According to Onanuga, some ministers are not even collecting government salaries or financial allowances, entering the roles purely out of a desire to serve.

“That’s not totally true. It will shock people that some ministers—some of them even spoke during the last budget exercise that they didn’t receive capital money and so on—some ministers, because they come into office to serve, have been using their personal funds to run. Some of them are not even collecting government money,” Onanuga stated.

When asked why ministers lack functioning budgets if federal revenues have increased, Onanuga explained that the administration is “doing so many things at the same time” and must aggressively prioritize where public funds are sent.