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Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
Yobe State has proposed a budget of N108.4 billion for the 2020 fiscal year with a greater percentage of funds earmarked for education, health, and agriculture.
Tagged ‘Budget of Continuity and Consolidation,’ the state governor, Mai Buni said N58 billion would be spent on recurrent expenditure, while N50. 4 billion would go for capital projects.
Governor Buni who presented the 2020 Finance and Appropriation bills to the House of Assembly, yesterday, said next year’s budget was N16. 7 billion higher, representing a 15.5per cent leap from the 2019 budget.
It was the first budget to be presented by the governor who was sworn into office on May 29.
A breakdown of the budget showed that education received the highest allocation of N22. 853 billion, followed by the health sector with N12.658, agriculture with N4. 644 billion, water resources received N1.968 billion, youths development was allocated N94.7 million, while women affairs got the least allocation of N269 million.
Governor Buni said greater resources had to go into the education sector to boost infrastructure for basic, primary and secondary education. He also said fresh investments would be made in the establishment of science, technology, engineering and mathematics schools in Yobe, Damaturu, Nguru and Potiskum.
He said health centres would also be established in each of the 178 electoral wards in the state.
Governor Buni said the government planned to finance the budget from the monthly statutory allocations of over N52 billions, Value Added Tax (VAT) of N12. 5 billion, with over N4 billion expected as grants. A total of N5, 442billion was also estimated to come from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
The governor also announced plans to establish a Special Security Trust Fund to tackle the security challenges in the state. The bill for the Fund would be sent to the house.
Speaker of the House, Adamu Mirwa assured the governor of speedy passage of the appropriation.
