NIGER State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has presented a budget estimate of over N128billion for the 2018 fiscal year which is N19 billion higher than the outgoing year’s (2017) approved budgets.
Presenting the estimates before the Niger State House of Assembly, in Minna, the Governor noted that the budget which he christens, the people’s budget was aimed at reconnecting with the ordinary citizens.
According to Governor Sani Bello, the state government decided to increase the 2018 budget from 2017 N109billion budget following the relative peace in the troubled Niger Delta region and the upward swing in the oil price in the international market with the fact that the country was technically out of recession.
He noted that the state 2017 budget was faithfully implemented even though he never gave a percentage of implementation, adding that since the government was a continuous process, the administration ensured the completion of a number of ongoing projects and embarked on some new ones.
Governor Abubakar Sani Bello while giving a breakdown of the 2018 estimates said recurrent expenditure was to gulp the sum of over N52billion which represents about 40.7 percent of the total revenue projection while the capital project was to cost an estimated over N75 billion which represents about 59.8percent of the budget.
According to him, the budget was to be financed through statutory allocation, which will account for about N57.6 billion expected as a capital receipt, value-added tax will contribute over N9billion, Paris refund over N10billion, internally generated revenue over N11billion, cash receipt N35billion, pension reduction over N10billion.
Giving an highlight of the 2018 budget, the Governor disclosed that the state government will spend the sum N44billion on the Economic sector with Agriculture receiving top priority as the administration will ensure that 200 hectares of land would be cleared for the state’s accelerated agriculture scheme that will also see the upgrading of farm centres at Tegina, Gwada, and Nasko with modern farming implements.
He also announced plans by his administration to recruit a total of 2,000 graduates as part of his government’s effort at curbing the worsening youth unemployment in the state, stressing that the government will do everything possible within the ambit of the law to give the youths a sense of belonging.
Meanwhile, speaking on rural feeder roads, the governor assured Nigerlites that the sum of N2billion has been set aside in the 2018 budget estimate to open link roads across various communities in rural access road programme in partnership with the World Bank.
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