***Urges Assembly to conclude process before passage
By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.
As Kogi State House of Assembly considers for approval, the 2024 Appropriation Bill of N258,27 billion for 2024 fiscal year, Initiative for Grassroot Advancement in Nigeria (INGRA) has tasked the House to put in place, mechanisms for restructuring of the 2024 proposed budget.
Mr Hamza Aliyu, Executive Director of INGRA INGRA), a Civil Society Organization (CSO), who submitted a memorandum to the lawmakers during budget defence by MDAs said the proposed restructuring should provide maximum benefit for the people.
In the memorandum, INGRA observed that the recurrent to capital ratio of 56:44 is not conducive for development as it means that the government intends to spend more on personnel and overhead than on capital projects which will benefit the majority of the Citizens of Kogi State.
Recall that Governor Bello on Monday, December 11, presented N258,278,501,339.00 proposed 2024 budget to the House of Assembly for consideration and approval.
Of the N258.2 billion, N145.73 billion representing 56.43 percent was budgeted for Recurrent Expenditure while N112.54 billion representing 43.57 percent was earmarked for Capital Expenditure.
Aliyu noted that there was the need to reverse this trend as he maintained that the borrowing plans of the state government was worrisome, taking into cognizance, increase in the revenue as shown in the budget outlay.
The INGRA Executive Director said that more worrisome was that more than 100 per cent of the Recurrent Revenue for 2023 was used for Recurrent Expenditure leaving a deficit of more than N13 billion.
He said that there was therefore, urgent need to tame thi reoccurring trend in the state’s public sector finance management taking into consideration the fact that over N17 billion was paid out as debt in 2023 (as at September) while N15 billion is estimated for debt payments in 2024.
Aliyu further contended that the Budget did not make plans for savings.
“It would have looked good if there was a fund kept aside for emergencies such an economic recession, taking into consideration that majority of our income is tied around a single product which is currently witnessing volatility in the market with the Israeli-Palestinian war going on.
“No provision is made for the reticulation of the Greater Lokoja Water Scheme. The scheme which is expected to generate 10 million gallons of water per day and end the city’s perennial water crisis due to poor resource allocation and human capacity.
“The reticulation was to ensure the effective distribution of water from the new waterworks to parts of Lokoja and the adjoining towns of Ganaja, Zango, Kabba junction Obajana and Gadumo”, he said.
Aliyu observed that the budgetary allocation for provision of dump sites, waste collection Vans and other waste management issues under the ministry of environment as well as the Ministry of Works were grossly inadequate and should be reviewed upwards.
He decried the N8.8 billion budgetary allocation to the Agriculture sector which he said, fell far below the 2003 Maputo Declaration which Nigeria is a signatory.
He said the Declaration enjoined States and Nations to invest at least 10 per cent of their Budgets in Agriculture adding that implication, the sector ought to be allocated N25.8 billion (representing 10 per cent) in view of the persistent high cost of food and inflationary trend in the State.
“The Budget allocation of less than N8.8 billion (less than three per cent of the total budget) means that the government does not intend to improve the sector, which has been shown as the fastest means of sustainable poverty reduction”, he said. (Ends)