***Passes 2 others bills on irrigation and Water Sector
By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja
Kogi State House of Assembly has passed a bill for Supplementary Budget of 22.1 billion for the 2025 fiscal year to enable the state to finance critical infrastructure, inflation and ensure the security of lives and property of citizens.
The Supplementary Budget Bill was passed at Wednesday plenary sitting following the adoption of the House Standing Committee on Appropriation, Budget Monitoring and Economic Planning report on the Bill.
Presenting the Committee Report, its Chairman, Hon. Jacob Sam Olawumi (APC-Mopamuro) said the request from Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for the House’s approval for the Supplementary Budget of N22,124,873,229.00 was committed to the Committee on May 6th.
According to the letter from the Governor, the Supplementary Budget is expected to help in adequately addressing the prevailing state of the nation as it impacts on the State and it’s citizenry.
Olawumi reported that the Committee “having scrutinized and considered the various provisions as provided, do hereby recommend for the House approval the sum of N22,124,873,229,00 Naira only as proposed in addition to N582, 404,119,489,00 Naira only.
With the approval, the sum of N604,528,992,718,00 only now stands as the total estimate of the revised appropriation for the year ending 31st December, 2025.”
Following the adoption of the Committee Report, the Supplementary Bill scaled through the second and third reading leading to its passage and approval of the Supplementary Budget for the Executive.
The House at plenary also gave concurrent readings to two new executive bills and passed them in view of the “urgency and importance” attached to them.
One of the bills, A Bill for a Law to Provide for the Kogi State Irrigation Water Users’ Associations and for Other Matters Connected Therewith, 2025″, had its first, second, third readings and was passed.
The second, “A Bill for a Law to Establish Kogi State Water Sector and Other Matters Connected Therewith, 2025,” also had is concurrent readings and was passed.
Speaking after the passage of the bills, Speaker of the Assembly Rt Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf said, “this bills are very important as they are expected to rejig the agricultural development of “our various communities.”
Speaker Yusuf decried the fact though is designated as one of the riverine states with the two largest water bodies meeting in a confluence in the state, the citizens lack potable water.
“The citizens are not enjoying clean water and maybe because the water sector is becoming a financial burden for the government hence the need for private individuals to participate where even the citizens will have for obligation to pay for what they use.
“It is a very serious and difficult bill to pass but if we are to give the society a better future in terms of water infrastructure, these laws and needed so that end users will be regulated and we will have value for what we are paying for”, the Speaker said.
On the irrigation bill, he said a lot of international bodies even the IMF would be ready to assist those who will engage themselves in efforts to improve food security. This signifies better days for our farmers.
On the Supplementary Budget Bill, Speaker Yusuf said government had to resort to the Supplementary appropriation as a result of some in-flows that were not captured in the 2025 budget.
“This is to provide room for those expenditures so that government would not have to spend out of budget”, Speaker Yusuf explained. (Ends)