Fayemi signs N91.1bn 2020 revised budget

The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Monday signed the N91.1 billion revised budget passed by the House of Assembly into law.

The governor said he had to slash the initial N124.7  billion Budget earlier passed and signed in December 2019 before it was reduced by N33 billion naira owing to slump in oil prices and the attendant reduction of federal allocations to states occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti the state capital after signing the revised appropriation bill, Fayemi stated that the 2020 ‘Budget of Deliverables’ was reviewed downward owing to the sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which had destabilised the economy making the implementation of the initial budget unrealistic.

He said: “The 2020 Approved Budget size of N124,724,869,355.95 has been reviewed to N91,128,996,482.01 in the supplementary budget.

“This is made up of N59,063,958,763.00 as Recurrent Expenditure and N32,065,037,719.01 as Capital Expenditure, representing 65:35 ratios, in response to the exigencies of our finances and the realities of the times.”

Fayemi added that to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the economy, it became imperative to review the  2020 Budget and prepared a Supplementary Budget which will be responsive to times and circumstances.

“The 2020 Supplementary Budget was designed, bearing in mind the dwindling revenue from the Federation Account, to focus on critical priority legacy projects.

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“The supplementary budget also considered the Guidelines for the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability (SFTAS) Programme-for-Result additional Financing by setting aside part of the total expenditure for COVID-19 related activities.”

Fayemi, who commended the efforts of the development partners in the transformational agenda of his government, promised that the present administration shall continue to collaborate with private investors to make Ekiti great.

The governor added the 2020 supplementary estimates has been put together to ensure that the state’s meagre resources are mobilised to specific and critical areas of the economy.

He said with this reduction, government areas of focus would be on health and environmental response; interventions with a view to improving the standard of living of the people; food security in the agricultural sector;  improved ease of doing business; and other multi-sectoral responses.

According to him, “The 2020 supplementary budget reflects our determination that Ekiti State remains resilient in the face of the challenges posed by COVID-19. We are resolute in our belief that the economy will bounce back stronger.

“I appreciate the efforts of our revered leaders and illustrious sons and daughters of this state who have donated generously to the fight against COVID-19 and in alleviating the suffering of our people most especially, the vulnerable,” he said.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE