Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has presented a budget proposal of N300.2 billion to the State House of Assembly for approval.
On Thursday morning, the budget, dubbed the budget of consolidation and renewed emphasis, was presented on the floor of the House.
Mohammed added that the 2024 Budget is based on the assumptions of 1.78 million barrels per day of oil output, a benchmark oil price of 73.96 US dollars per barrel, and an exchange rate of N700 to the US dollar.
The governor went on to say that 2024 was premised on increased revenue accruals into the Federation Account as a result of the removal of oil subsidies, as well as an enhanced and efficient system of internally produced revenue collection.
He stated that during the preparation of the 2024 Budget, the state government considered the following measures, including assuring the completion of ongoing projects and proposing new projects only on the basis of vital necessity and the immediate impact they would have.
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Other methods he stated in preparing the 2024 budget include ensuring a reduction in non-essential overheads, adhering to Budget standards established by the Nigerian Governors Forum, and ensuring peer review and comparability.
Others included adhering to debt servicing and repayment arrangements in order to meet our responsibilities, as well as pursuing favorable sources of Capital Receipts and financing, such as Aids and Grants and Public Private Partnership.
Governor Mohammed stated that the proposed budget for this year includes Recurrent Expenditure of N121,341,193,343.11 or 40.4% and Capital Expenditure of N178,878,512,477.49 or 59.6%.
“The 2024 proposed Budget is 48.2% higher than the budget I presented at this House for 2023,” he recalled .
“The increase attributable to the increased revenue arising from the subsidy removal and the upward inflationary trends associated with the depreciating state of the local currency.
“This implies an increase in prices upon which our projects and programmes will be implemented. The adoption of this conservative approach is to ensure that projects and programmes captured are appropriately costed.
“The process of the preparation of the budget has been all inclusive.
“Budget Public Hearings were conducted in the three Senatorial Zones where inputs from Stakeholders were elicited and incorporated into the Budget proposal”
Responding, the Speaker, Babayo Mohammed Akuyam.assured the governor that the House would ensure that the proposed budget would receive speedy passage.