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From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Delta State government has approved an ‘indicative budget’ of N425 billion for 2022.
Briefing newsmen on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting, the Commissioner for Economic Planning, Dr. Barry Gbe, said that the council approved the proposal after due consideration of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF and FSP) in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Law 2020.
Gbe, who was in company with the Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, stated that his ministry had proposed a budget of N388 billion for the period, but noted that the figure was raised up by the council to accommodate other matters not envisaged earlier.
According to him, after deliberations, debates and a deeper look into what 2022 could look like, the State Executive Council, in its wisdom, increased the N388 billion that was recommended to N425 billion.
Gbe, however, disclosed that the N425 budget was “indicative” stating that it is not full and final.
“So, we will be going to the House of Assembly with an indicative figure of N425 billion as a total budget size for 2022. The micro economic indicators that informed the indicative 2022 budget was a deliberate adoption of the Federal Government MTEF and FSP, where they planned crude oil to be sold at $57 per barrel in 2022, with daily production of oil at 1.88 million barrels and exchange rate of N410 to the dollar.
“These are the indicative figures that make up the micro-economic framework of the Federal Government, and that is what we also used in our projections.
