The education sector topped the Bauchi State budget with an allocation of N48 billion in the N300.2 billion Appropriation Bill presented to the state House of Assembly by Governor Bala Mohammed on Thursday.
Briefing newsmen on the breakdown of the budget on Friday, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Aminu Hammayo, explained that the N48 billion allocated to the state Ministry of Education translates to about 16.1 per cent of the budget, which is unprecedented in the state.
He said, apart from education, a lion’s share of the budget was also given to health.
According to him, a total sum of N45.09 billion was allocated to the state Ministry of Health, which translates to 15.05 per cent, meeting the Abuja Declaration of a minimum of 15 per cent.
He added that a sum of N42.3 billion was allocated to the state Ministry of Works, which translates to about 14.1 per cent.
He explained that the infrastructure agency has about N17 billion, which translates to 5.8 per cent.
KATAGUM DAILYPOST recalls that Gov Mohammed presented the N300.2 billion 2024 Appropriation Bill to the state House of Assembly on Thursday for approval.
Presenting the proposal, tagged “Budget of Consolidation and Renewed Focus,” the governor assured members of the house that the budget would be fully implemented.
According to him, the N178.8 billion capital expenditure of the budget represents 59.6 per cent, while the N121.3 billion for recurrent expenditure represents 40.4 per cent.
“Looking at the size of the budget, it means our allocations for education, health, and infrastructure take about 52 per cent of the total budget, and that is an indication of the focus of the present administration,” Hammayo said.
He said further: “The Ministry of Finance has an allocation of N32.4 billion; the office of the Head of Service has about N13.7 billion, which is about 4.6 per cent of the budget and that is mainly made up of provisions that have been made for outstanding gratuities and pension payments.
“We have N5 billion for the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning has about N5.6 billion, which is basically made up of provisions that have been made for reserve.
“A total of N7.5 billion was allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture and N3.9 billion was allocated to the Ministry of Youths and Sports.”
