N100m for 100 computers: Explain how you spent amount, group tells Gombe govt

Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, Gombe State Governor

A civil society organisation, Freedom of Information Advocates Initiatives (FOIA), on Sunday, called on the Gombe State government to give information to Nigerians on the 100 computers it purchased for N100 million.

TrackaNG, a project initiated by pro-transparency group, BudgIT, had, on Monday last week, revealed that it tracked 100 HP desktop computers procured by the Gombe State government.

“N100m was allocated in the 2019 budget for the supply of 100 computers in Filya, Gombe State. We tracked and report that the computers have been delivered. #GetInvolved,” TrackaNG tweeted on its official Twitter handle.

It said the sum of N100million was allocated in the state’s 2019 budget for the supply of the 100 computers.

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Reacting to this in a statement made available to the Tribune Online, FOIA Director of Media and Communications, Pelumi Olajengbesi, stated that Nigerians needed to be informed on how such a huge sum of money was spent in the procurement of 100 units of computers only.

According to Olajengbesi, “It is a known fact that the price of a single desktop computer in multiples of a hundred is not up to the amount expended by the Gombe State government even in the open market.

“It is in view of this that the Freedom of Information Advocates Initiative is calling on the Gombe State government to, as a matter of public interest, come out openly and explain how it spent N100million to procure 100 units of desktop computers.”

The FOAI Director of Media and Communications stated that the call was in line with the provision of the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA), adding that Nigerians were in dire need of information on government activities.

“We are not saying that the state government should not buy the computers but the government should tell us how much was paid for each computer and the contractor who made the supply at such an incredible cost,” Olajengbesi added.

He submitted that the FoI Act was a revolutionary act by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, adding that Nigerians needed to know with alacrity what elected leaders were doing with their money.

“There is a lot of secrecy in government activities. We are in dire need of information about government activities. We have a right to know what public officers are doing on our behalf.”

Meanwhile, Olajengbesi reiterated that with the FoI Act in the country, the FOIA sought the free flow of information in Nigeria, particularly on government activities.

He revealed that FOIA would partner with some governmental agencies and non-governmental organisations with a view to putting the FoI Act into better use in the country.

He added that the organisation would also partner with the two chambers of the National Assembly to ensure that the defects noticed in the Freedom of Information Act are cured for improved efficacy of the objectives of the Freedom of Information Act.