Benue government officials spends half a billion on traveling expenses

BENUE state commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, Mr David Olofu said that within the last two years, government officials had expended over half a billion naira as traveling expenses.

The commissioner dropped the hint at the ministerial briefing of the state ministry of finance at state secretariat of Nigeria Union of Journalist NUJ, Makurdi yesterday.

Olofu who the breakdown said that N 185,989,250.85, N346, 400,831.86, N40, 183,600.00 all total N572, 573,682.71 were expended on traveling in 2015, 2016 and January and February, 2017 respectively.

The commissioner further said that 15,300 pensioners are in government pay roll, while the state workforce has moved down to 17,090 from 19,000 inherited from the previous administration.

In her speech, Chairman of Benue Internal Revenue Service, BIRS, Mrs Mimi Orubibi Adzape has said that the state generated N8.4billion in 2016.

While given the breakdown, Adzape said that pay as You Earn PAYE brought in N4.7billion, MDAs N3.5billion, Road Taxes, N236m, Direct Pay Tax N406m; consultant returns 223.9m and Others N24m.

Though the state revenue boss said that 2016 revenue was N817m increase to 2015 which she puts at N7.6billion.

She further said that the first two months in 2017 have shown a brighter chance of improved in the 2017 revenue.

According to her, January and February 2017, we generated N884, 200,332.85 and N1, 065,994.76 respectively.

Mrs Adzape however said that only 25 percent of the revenue generated was accrued to state government.

“With the existing law, what we generate is only gross while 75 percent of the money move to MDAs who render essential services while the 25 percent is remitted to state government”, she said.