Dankwambo presents N118.7 bn appropriation for 2019 to assembly

Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo on Monday presented the 2019 appropriation bill of the sum of  N118, 737, 439, 439, 791 to the State House of Assembly being his last as governor of the state having served the constitutional two terms.

Dankwambo who tagged the bill ‘Budget of Posterity’ because it is the last to be prepared by his administration said it is made up of N60,627,978,208.00 as recurrent expenditure. He explained that N58,109,461,583.00 will be for capital budget with an envisaged deficit of N13,975,114,971.00 which is 11.77 per cent of the budget for deliberation and passage in line with government’s constitutional responsibilities.

The governor also said that the 2019 budget preparation was guided by the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), Medium Term Sector Strategies (MTSS) and Medium Term Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTFSP) adding that these strategic documents informed the size of the 2019 budget.

Dankwambo explained that the focus and thrust of the of the budget is anchored on human development with emphasis on education and a strengthened human resources for the implementation of the administration’s plans and budgets.

ALSO READ: Ogun APC exco will complete its tenure in office, Amosun boasts

He added that it will also focus on sustaining the provision of physical infrastructure as the driver of the economic growth and development; a sustainable and improved agricultural sector; rural and urban transformation; a sustainable national healthcare development architecture; attention to food and nutrition to address the challenges of malnutrition as well as continued implementation of social transformation and safety nets programmes targeting the youth, women, the unemployed, physically challenged, the rural poor and poverty reduction programmes.

Other focus of the budget, the governor said will be the continued generation of employment opportunities for the youths, women and unemployed; addressing the challenges and needs of the internally displaced persons as a result of insurgency and natural disasters; continued attention to environment challenges; strengthening partnership with our multilateral and bilateral development partners, NGO’s, civil society organizations, foundations, the organized private sector and the small and medium scale operators as well as sustaining the security architecture and peaceful coexistence among the people of the state.

He then commended the people of the state for giving him the mandate to serve as governor for eight years just as he thanked them for supporting him throughout the years he served.

Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Nasiru Nono while receiving the budget presentation assured that it will be carefully studied and passed in good time to enable the government to complete all ongoing projects before May 29, 2019 when the administration will hand over to a new government in the state.