Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has presented a budget proposal of N257.9 billion for the 2020 fiscal year.
The state deputy governor, Hadiza Balarabe, submitted the appropriation bill on behalf of the governor to members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly on Tuesday in the state capital.
The document tagged ‘Budget of Progressive Renewal’, has N190.04 billion capital expenditure and N68.87 billion recurrent spending.
According to the deputy governor, the appropriation bill is in the ratio of 73.7 per cent to 26.3 per cent representing capital and recurrent spending respectively.
She explained that this was in line with the present administration’s agenda of spending more on serving the people than in running the government.
Balarabe informed the lawmakers that the priority of the budget was to complete all 2019 projects and pay all contractors who have worked for the state government.
She added that most of the spending would be in the economic and social sectors, with N140 billion allocated to education, health, and infrastructure.
In the budget estimate, education got the highest allocation of N64.64 billion (25.07%), while health has N39.61 billion (15.36%) and infrastructure got N66.34 billion (25.72%).
The deputy governor disclosed that the government has declared 12 years of free and compulsory primary and secondary education for all children in Kaduna, as part of efforts to eradicate illiteracy and poverty in the state.
She announced that the government would complete the renovation of more primary schools and extend the building of more classrooms, including multi-storey blocks to address congestion and land availability constraints in urban centres.
Balarabe informed the lawmakers that the state government has recorded a significant achievement in the construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of state roads, as well as making significant investments in health and education infrastructure, equipment, and staffing.
In his remark, the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Aminu Shagali, commended Governor El-Rufai for the timely presentation of the budget.
He gave assurance that the House would continue to give its support towards ensuring progress, peace, and development of the state.
Since the inception of the present administration in 2015, the El-Rufai administration has sustained a tradition of presenting the yearly budget in a good time, usually in October.
The presentation of the 2020 budget proposal is quite different because it is the first time a state deputy governor is saddled with the onerous responsibility of presenting a budget to the Assembly in the country.
Source: Channels TV
