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HON. SHINA PELLER
THE HOUSE
Notes that National Orientation Agency was established in 1993 and by virtue of its enabling Act, the Agency is established to re-orientate Nigerians and encourage them to take part actively and freely in discussions and decisions affecting their collective welfare.
Also Notes that the functions of the National Orientation Agency as stipulated in section 3 of the Act which includes to enlighten the general public on Federal Government Policies and Programmes; mobilize favorable opinion of Federal Government Policies and Programmes; collect and collate feedback to the Public on Federal Government programmes and Policies; energize the conscience of all categories of Nigerians on their rights, privileges, responsibilities and obligations as citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; re-orientate Nigerians on their general attitude to waste and affluent lifestyles; propagate on the need eschew all vices in public life, such as corruption, dishonesty, ethnic, parochial and religious bigotry;
Aware section 4 of the Enabling Act also stipulates the novel objectives of the Agency. Based on the NOA Enabling instrument, the Agency is a social re-engineering organization with omnibus mandate and its core functions include re-orientation and attitudinal transformation, public enlightenment and mass mobilization etc;
Also Aware that since 1999, Nigeria has been bedeviled with several problems, ranging from communal clashes, religious and ethnic bigotry, religious and ethnic killings, terrorism, religious extremism, large scale corruption and very recently became victims of xenophobic attacks in South Africa. All these vices have affected our image outside the country, which to a large extent has led to ill-treatment of Nigerians abroad. That even the recent reprisal domestic attacks following the xenophobic Attacks in South Africa would have been avoided if the National Orientation Agency was properly positioned to orientate Nigerians properly;
Further Aware that more than ever before the unity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria needs to be strengthened and all efforts by the Federal Government to tackle these problems must be effectively disseminated to the people at the grassroots, hence the need for more efficient performance of the National Orientation Agency;
Worried that the National Orientation Agency has failed to rise up to its responsibility of disseminating information and re-orientating Nigerians during this COVID-19 Pandemic.
Cognizant that by virtue of the enabling Instruments of the Agency, it is required to have presence at the Federal, State and Local Government levels for optimal performance and this has a lot of financial implications.
Again aware that the Strategic Plan for the National Orientation Agency 2017-2021 reveals that the Statutory Allocations to the Agency in the past years is inadequate for optimal performance of the Agency’s mandate as it is presently bedeviled with poor statutory allocation, poorly motivated staff, inadequate vehicles and other public enlightenment equipment, hence the need to increase the Budgetary Allocation of the Agency in the 2022 Appropriation Budget Estimates in order for the Agency to achieve its
(i) Value Orientation;
(ii) Public Education and Mass Mobilization Programmes; and
(iii) Political and Civic Education Programmes.
Resolves to:
1. Urge the National Orientation Agency to wake up to its legal responsibilities and be more efficient in Value reorientation and public education of Nigerians and further synergize with the Federal Government on combating social vices such as Terrorism, Xenophobic Attacks, Anti-Corruption War etc.
2. The Director- General of the National Orientation Agency should appear before the House Committee on Information and National Orientation, Ethics and value and table the activities, strengths and weaknesses within the next two weeks.
3. Mandate the Committee on Information and National Orientation, Ethics and values to ensure the increase in the budgetary allocation of the National Orientation Agency in the 2022 Appropriation Budget Estimates for optimal performance.
