Kogi State House of
Assembly on Tuesday passed N99.9 billion as the State’s Appropriation Bill for
2016 and called on the executive to ensure its proper implementation.
The budget is N25.00
billion higher than the N74.99 billion proposals presented to it by the
executive arm of government.
The passage followed
the third and final readings of the bill after clause-by-clause consideration
under the chairmanship of Speaker Umar Imam at plenary session in Lokoja.
Estimated recurrent
revenue was put at N63.12 billion, while the expected capital receipts were put
at N36.87 billion.
The recurrent
expenditure summary showed that salaries and allowances are expected to gulp
N42.45 billion with overhead cost standing at N15.83 billion.
Mr John Abah
(PDP-Ibaji), Chairman of Committee on Finance, Appropriation and Budget
Monitoring presented the committee’s report on the appropriation bill.
He said legislation on
the bill was premised on principles of effective allocation of scarce resources
to identified critical programmes and projects.
According to Abah,
they include completion of ongoing projects and addition of new ones in
critical areas of need and expansion of the state’s revenue base through
Internally Generated Revenues.
Others are enhancement
of greater transparency and proper accountability in public expenditure
management, creation of environment conducive for investors and donor agencies
to operate; and reduction of domestic debt profile of the state.
Speaker Imam charged
members to be alive to their oversight legislative functions in ensuring that
the budget was strictly adhered to.
Friday Sani
(PDP-Igalamela-Odolu), said the passage of the bill would ginger Gov. Yahaya
Bello to deliver dividends of democracy to the people and urged legislators to
properly monitor the budget.
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