December 22, 2017

The Adamawa Assembly Committee on Budget and Appropriation, has given reasons for the jerking up of the state’s 2018 budget by over N15 billion.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the house had on Thursday passed the budget of N177.9 billion as against the initial proposal of N162.7 billion presented to it by Gov. Muhammadu Bindow.

Speaking to NAN on the increase on Friday in Yola, Mr Abdulrahman Abubakar, the committee’s Chairman, said the development became necessary for proper funding of some key projects that would fast track the speedy transformation of the state.

“For instance, we added over N6 billion to education; N1.5 billion to youth empowerment, N3 billion to works and N2 billion to rural electrification,” Abubakar said.

He said that the house also increased the state counterpart fund for SDGs project from N100 million to N1.2 billion.

Abubakar said that the Committee, in its report presented to the house on the budget, recommended measures on how to boost the state internally generated revenue and to ensure proper implementation of the budget.

“In my committee’s report on the budget, we recommended the need to take measures to block leakages and diversion of internally generated revenue.

“We recommended the centralization of revenue collectors in all revenue generating ministries, departments and agencies.

“We recommended that henceforth, all the house of assembly standing committees should take oversight functions more seriously, thereby ensuring the monitoring and performances of MDAs.

“All MDAs must make a compulsory quarterly report on the working of the approved budget to the Honourable House”.