Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State has presented a proposed budget of ₦1.20 trillion for the year 2025.
The draft budget was presented to the Niger State Executive Council for approval during their meeting on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.
Speaking on the budget figures, the State Commissioner of Planning, Mustapha Ndajiwo, told the council that the budget estimate consists of ₦188.42 billion, which accounts for 15.68% of recurrent expenditure, alongside ₦1.01 trillion, representing 84.34% of capital expenditure.
He noted that the 2025 proposed budget figures is more than the 2024 approved budget by 32.94%.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday debated the 2025 appropriation bill of N3.005 trillion presented to the lawmakers by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu last Thursday.
Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, who presided over the plenary, committed the bill to a joint committee on appropriation and finance for review with a mandate to report back in one month.
Earlier, Chairman of the House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Sa’ad Olumoh, provided an overview of the proposed spending with a breakdown of items in the estimate.
While raising concerns over the projection of N408 billion deficit financing in the budget, Olumoh, who noted that loans are good when used for the actual purposes, added: “We have to be cautious about it.
We need to have a sustainable and pragmatic way of financing our budget so that we don’t rely solely on loans.
So I would suggest that we look at a realistic budget and ways to finance it using alternatives like the Public Private Partnership models.
I also want to implore my colleagues that for the purpose of the 2025 budget, we need to properly scrutinise it to prevent wastage.
