***Frowns at late presentation of budget by the executive
With barely four days after the Niger State Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago presented the 2025 appropriation estimate to the state house of assembly for consideration, the house has approved the budget estimate of N1.558b for the year 2025.
This followed the submission of report by the eight member house committee on planning and appropriation on the 2025 budget, headed by the member representing Rafi state constituency Hon. Zubairu Ismaila Zana at the house plenary on Thursday.
It would be recalled that the governor had on Monday presented a budget estimate of N1,558,887,565,358.00 to the state house of assembly for consideration for the 2025 fiscal year.
The figure, according to the governor is higher than the N805.6billion for 2024 appropriation representing 48.32 percent.
The 2025 estimate comprised N196, 335, 361, 443.00, representing 13 percent as recurrent expenditure, while N1,362,552,203, 915.00 representing 87 percent is set aside as capital expenditure.
The governor said the budget will be funded through statutory Allocation of N53,400,000,000.00 and Value Added Tax (VAT) of N85,300,555,454.00
Other Federation Allocation Account (FAAC) receipts of N236,900,000,000.00,
IGR of N63,360,000,000.00, including other IGR of N186,368,241,948.00 from
capital receipt of N933,558,767,956.00.
This brings the total budget size to N1,558,887,565,358.00.
However, submitting the appropriation committee report before the house, the Chairman told the house that the committee made some adjustments in the budget based on observations but added that the adjustments did not affect the budget size.
For example the committee observed that “the provision of the capital head of NN1,920,000,000 for the legislature is grossly inadequate and therefore recommended that the sum of N1,196,097,350 be moved from special project/stabilization, to bring the total to N3,116,097,350 as total capital expenditure for the legislature.
“The committee observed that the proposed recurrent expenditure of the legislature is inadequate and therefore recommends that the sum of N793,704,715.56 be moved from the state pension and gratuity statutory to the N2,753,295,284.44 provided in the budget as recurrent expenditure of the state legislature to bring the total to N3,547,000,000.00”.
The committee pointed out that in line with the adjustments, the following amendments in the budget were effected, and these include recurrent expenditure of N199,235,361,443.00, which is made up of N72,276,458,552.00 as personnel cost, N53,986,010,146.00 as overhead cost and N72,952,892,754.00 as consolidated revenue.
According to the committee the recommended capital expenditure based on the adjustments now stood at N1,359,652,203,915.00 and this comprised N27,977,297,352.00 as administrative cost, N1,103,239,447,039.98 for economic sector, N3,508,500,000.00 allocated to law and justice while social sector will now take the sum of N224,926,959,923.00.
The committee nonetheless frowned at the late submission of the 2025 budget to house which according to the chairman, “resulted in the hasty scrutiny and timely passage.
“It is therefore recommended that the executive arm ensure that the budget is laid before the legislature at least three months before the end of the year for proper scrutiny for timely passage”.