The Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Malam Ali Muhammad Ali says the agency plans to expand its operations in line with the current global trend.
Ali said this at the Public Hearing on the 2024-2026 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP)
The hearing was organised by the Joint Committee on Finance, Appropriations, National Planning and Economic Affairs and Local and Foreign Debts.
Ali said that the management was thinking of expanding the agency’s operations to make it much more commercial oriented.
“The agency was established in 1976 with the primary responsibility to seek, obtain and receive through subscription payment, exchange for news materials and features.
“To basically distribute such news materials to subscribers against payment either in the form of news exchange.
“It has also engaged in enterprises that are auxiliary to the primary function of the agency.
“We can’t be self-funded because our sources of revenue…,though we have services we render which generate revenue for us but it cannot carter for our operations,” he said.
Ali added: “We are getting subvention from the national budget. We are dependent mostly on government.
“We have remitted to the federation account. Though we have remitted not much actually. By law, we remit 25 per cent of our generated revenue to the federation. account.”
A member of the committee, Sen. Ede Dafinone (APC-Delta) commended NAN on the well articulated MTEF/FSP document presented to the committee.
“This is one of the best presentation seen here. It’s very well put together”.
On his part, Sen. Osita Izunaso (APC-Imo) urged NAN to strive to be self-funding and self-financing.
“This is because NAN is like our own Reuters. And you have offices all over the place and even the news that you disseminate, media houses subscribe to, they pay to NAN. So why wouldn’t NAN strive to be self-funding.
“I think that should be the next target for NAN. Because even if you look at the budgetary provision for you it is paltry.”(NAN)