Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno state, has signed the N269.7 billion budget into law for 2022 with an increase of about one per cent.
The governor also signed the Child Rights Act which was earlier presented to the House for consideration.
According to Zulum, capital and recurrent expenditures however; stood at N172.53 billion and N95.4 billion respectively.
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“This year’s appropriation bill would be financed from recurrent revenues of N113.84 billion, comprising N48.22 billion statutory allocations, N34.53 billion IGR and N20.72 Value Added Tax (VAT).
Presenting the bill simulteneauolsy for assent yesterday at the Council Chambers of the Government House Maiduguri, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan disclosed: “The house committee on appropriation and standing orders in consultations with various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) adjusted the budget size.
He said that this year’s budget was increased from N268 billion to N269.7 billion with an increase of N1.7 billion or 0.63 per cent.
According to him, the budget adjustments were made to capture five areas of the appropriation bill for signing into law.
Lawan commended Government and the good people of the state for their unflinching support which created a cordial relationship between the executives and the legislative arms in the state, pointing out that such cordial relationship led to the numerous people oriented projects and resettlement of millions of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs back to their ancestral homes.
On the implementation of the budget, Zulum said: “The law is very clear, as regards expenditures without budgetary provisions,” warning that members of the state executive council (SEC) are also to be careful.
Besides, he added that the commissioners are henceforth to have their own dairies, stating that the government will not take it lightly; if there are no budgetary provisions for the execution of projects.
He described non-submissions of expenditures as clumsy and ineptitude to members of the state executive council.
In a related development, governor Zulum has signed Child Protection and the Violence against Human Prohibition bills into law.
According to him, the implementation of the Act will assist the people of state in their daily activities.
Signing the Bills after it was presented to the governor by the Speaker, Rt. Hon Abdulkarim Lawan, Zulum said: “The Child Rights Act was amended in accordance to our culture, norms, religion and traditions.”
He however noted that some clauses were ‘omitted and inserted’ after due considerations of the State House of Assembly to pass the two bills into law.
On how the bills were passed, the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Kaka Lawan disclosed: “We sat down to draft the executive bills on the instruction of Governor Zulum of Borno state.
“They were sent to the House of Assembly for their deliberation, as they affect their norms and traditions.”
Even though the bills were bulky and controversial, he said that with expertise and understanding of the executive and legislature, public hearings were conducted last year.
According to him, the public hearing were to thrush out grey areas and agree with acceptable norms, particularly as they affect the religion and culture of the people.
He said this led to the acceptable public hearing to pass the Child Rights Act by the Assembly.
