Lamido budgets N115b for 2013

Governor Sule Lamido of Nigeria’s Jigawa state has presented N115 billion Appropriation Bill for 2013 to the House of Assembly.

The estimates were five per cent higher than 2012’s figures.

Lamido said the budget was made up of N57.2 billion recurrent expenditure and 60.2 billion for capital expenditure.

He said that 56 per cent of the capital expenditure focused on infrastructure and human development services.

Highlights of the budget included N34 billion earmarked for economic sector development, N14.75 billion was set aside for social and human development services, while urban development got N7.8 billion and N3.65 billion was for general administration. Education and health sectors were allocated N8.2 billion and N4.25 billion, respectively.

Other key areas included agriculture with N4.4 billion, economic empowerment programme N1.2 billion, commerce and entrepreneurship N3.8 billion, rural electrification got N665 million, while N 25.1 billion was earmarked for road and transport services.

The governor said the budget would be funded from a projected income of N44.1 billion statutory allocation, N7.507 billion internally generated revenue, N9.6 billion Value Added Tax (VAT) and N17 billion transfer from federal on stabilisation fund. More than N15 billion was expected from the local government councils’ contribution for primary education and health care, with N11 billion as opening balance, while N1.562 billion and N9.4 billion would be sourced from internal and external loans, as well as miscellaneous capital receipts, respectively.

The governor sought for the support of stakeholders to ensure successful implementation of the budget and urged the legislature to accord the bill accelerated hearing. Receiving the bill, the Speaker of the House, Alhaji Adamu Ahmad, commended the governor for what he described as the transparent and prudent management of public funds.