Lalong signs N146.7bn `Budget of Rescue’ into law

Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau on Tuesday signed N146.7 billion ‘Budget of Rescue and Hope’ into law.

Of the amount, N73.4 billion is for capital expenditure while N73.3 billion would go for recurrent expenditure.

The governor recalled that he presented an estimate of N154 billion to the Plateau House of Assembly on Dec. 28, 2015 for consideration and passage.

He said that the estimate was based on oil benchmark of 38 dollars per barrel.

Lalong stated that the House of Assembly after careful deliberations, considering the current economic situation, passed N146.7 billion representing 4.78 per cent drop.

The governor said the State Government will use the budget to address critical development projects and work assiduously to deliver on its five-policy thrust.

According to him, these include peace, security and good governance, human capital development and social welfare, agriculture and rural development, entrepreneurship and industrialisation, and physical infrastructure and environment.

“We will implement the budget with due diligence and ensure that fiscal discipline and financial intelligence in line with global best practices is observed.

“Having now signed the budget into law, it is necessary to admonish that while the executive executes it in line with the stipulation of the law, the legislature must also be alert to ensure the necessary checks and balances that behove of it as the second arm of government.”

He thanked the Speaker and members of the Assembly for their selfless efforts in the dutiful passage of the budget.

Earlier, Mrs Tamwakat Weli, Commissioner for Finance, who gave the synopsis before the governor’s assent, said the budget was implementable.

Weli said that in spite of the steady decline of the revenues that accrued to the state, government would explore all available sources to generate more revenue to finance the budget.