Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday, proposed a N132.5billion budget for the 2021 fiscal year.
He also presented to the House of Assembly, a supplementary appropriation bill of N20billion for the 2020 fiscal year.
Christened “2021 budget of resilience,” the governor noted that the revised estimated figure of the budget represented an increase of N23.7 billion which constitutes 18 per cent from the revised year 2020 revenue estimates.”
Ortom explained that the proposed fiscal year 2021 recurrent expenditure stood at N90.8 billion, representing 68 per cent of the total budget, made up of N49.3 billion for personnel cost, representing 37 per cent of the budget, and N41.4 billion representing 31per cent for overhead cost.
Speaker of the Assembly, Titus Una who commended the governor for the early presentation of the 2021 budget, promised that members would give it accelerated attention to ensure its quick passage into law.
The budget estimate is based on the assumptions that the benchmark of crude oil price remained at $40 per barrel and oil production at 1.86 million barrels per day and that the revenue accruals would improve with respect to the statutory allocations and the Value Added Tax (VAT).