The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has described the budget presented to the state assembly by the state governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, as ‘unrealistic’.
This was contained in a statement issued by the party publicity secretary in the state, Bemgba Iortyom, which he made available to newsmen in Makurdi on Wednesday.
According to Iortyom, the budget estimate was based on questionable assumptions.
It will be recalled that Governor Alia presented the 2024 budget estimate of N225. 7 billion to the state assembly last Friday.
Reacting to the budget, the PDP said, “Based on our observations, the maiden budgetary proposals presented by Governor Hyacinth Alia to the State Assembly outlining the fiscal plan for his administration in the 2024 financial year are unrealistic and based on questionable assumptions that do not tally with the approved national projections by the federal government of Nigeria within the same period envisaged.
In the statement, Iortyom noted that the budget estimate was a revision of what the immediate past administration of Governor Samuel Ortom handed over and regretted that, with the humongous allocation coming from the federal government, the 2024 budget should reflect such.
The party also faulted the governor’s projection of the budget, which puts oil prices at $65 per barrel, and described it at variance with the federal government’s projection.
Iortyom said, “The macroeconomic projections by Governor Alia in his 2024 budget proposals are at variance with those of the Federal Government, such as oil prices at $65 per barrel and oil production at 1.6 million barrels per day when the Federal Government projects $78 per barrel and 1.78 million barrels a day; inflation at 20% and GDP growth at 3.2 per cent when the Federal Government projects inflation at 21.4 per cent and GDP at 3.76 per cent. This discrepancy naturally raises credibility issues concerning a budget based on such inaccuracies.”
The party, however, advised the Governor to be transparent and accountable in governance, especially now that the capital inflow available to his administration is many times higher than in the previous administration.
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