The National Orientation Agency ( NOA) requires over N1.2 billion as overhead costs annually, to function effectively, according to its Director-General, Mr Mike Omeri.

Omeri disclosed this in Sokoto on Friday at a one-day Forum on Citizens’ Conversation with Elected Officials.
 
The forum was jointly organised by the agency, in collaboration with a German Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
 
``The Agency needs over N100 million to cover the overhead costs of its 800 offices and 5, 000 staff, nationwide.
 
``We are, however, regrettably getting only about N28 million monthly as overheads, and this figure has been progressively reduced to this amount from the about N45 million we were getting as overheads in 2012,’’ Omeri recalled.
 
The DG also said that the agency could not currently discharge its mandate effectively due to its present underfunding.
 
Omeri, however, took a swipe at the states and local governments across the country over their failure to complement the funding of the agency, as specified in its enabling law.
 
``The agency is also grappling with this problem of underfunding and understaffing, as well as the dearth of other logistics, in spite of its huge mandate of reorienting Nigerians.
 
`` We are having this monstrous financial problem, while almost all Nigerians have agreed that the panacea to most of Nigeria's current problems is the massive reorientation of its citizenry,’’ he added.
 
While acknowledging the efforts of the Federal Government to fund the agency, in spite of the nation's dwindling revenues, Omeri, however, appealed for more efforts in this direction.
 
He further called on states and local governments across the country to take giant steps to assist in funding the agency.
 
Omeri said that the forum was aimed at strengthening democracy, rule of law and effective service delivery to the Nigerian people.
 
`` This will assist in further building confidence, promoting trust and enhance transparency and accountability across the three tiers of government.
 
Gov. Aminu Tambuwal, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Bashir Garba, said that the state government’s emphasis was on social justice, respect for the rule of law, liberty and equity.
 
The Director of Political and Civic Education of the the Agency, Mrs Ngozi Ekeoba, said that the forum was aimed at bridging the gap between the citizens and elected public officials.
 
The Nigeria Country Director of the German Foundation, Mrs Hildegard-Behrendt Kigozi, stressed the need for all parts of the society to be adequately taken care of, to have a more peaceful and egalitarian society.
 
The Sokoto State Director of the agency, Alhaji Abubakar Danchadi, assured that its employees would continue to work diligently to disseminate the programmes and policies of the government.