THE Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello on Wednesday presented a budget of N176.12 billon for year 2020 to the state assembly.
The budget tagged ‘Budget of Prosperity’ was presented on the floor of the state Assembly by the Deputy Governor, Edward Onoja on behalf of the governor.
According to him,the budget estimates is made of N92.933 billion recurrent revenue consisting of N21.032billion from internal sources, N50.43billion as the states share from the Federation account.
Onoja explained that N17.5 revenue is expected from value added Tax while N120 billion is expected from the Excess crude.
He said that N100 billion is expected from exchange rate difference as refund from Federal government while N2 billion is expected from Non-oil revenue just as N1.5 billion is being expected from from Forex equalisation and N120 billion is expected from excess bank charges.
The Deputy Governor told the state Assembly that recurrent revenue for the year 2020 stands at N92.932 out of which estimated personnel cost for the period will be 32.512 billion whereas N46.55billion is expected to be overhead cost thereby giving N78.96 billion as a recurrent expenditure for the year 2020.
In summary, Onoja said that the total estimated revenue ( I.e recurrent and capital receipts stands at N176.123 billion for the year 2020,making a total estimated expenditure (I.e recurrent and capital) stands at N176.123 for the year 2020 budget a balanced one.
He noted that government has continued to pursue an aggressive programme of diversification founded on the twin pillars of stimulating domestic enterprise and protecting them from illegal or unfair cross-border trade.
His words, “recent results indicate that the Nigerian economy is now witnessing steady, if slow, GDP growth along with several other signs of sustainable economic growth.
“Although there are concerns over some developments on the international scene and their potential to slow down or even erode the gains we have seen so far, government remains relentless in pursuing our strategic economic objectives to a productive end.
“As a component of the Nigerian State, Kogi State will continue to track these developments in order to mitigate or even eliminate their potential for adverse effects on us. In particular, we will increase efforts on our ongoing transformation of Agriculture as the mainstay of our economy.
“At the same time, we intend to play more active roles in the Solid Minerals sector which is another area of comparative advantage for us. Recent moves by the Federal Government of Nigeria to revive Ajaokuta Steel Complex and iron ore mining at Itakpe really corresponds well with our own plans for them as the core of our economic diversification policy.
He also stressed that I preparation for expected changes in the Industrial and economic composition of Kogi State over the next half a decade, they are putting in place a medium term infrastructure and human capital development strategy, as reflected in this budget.
“Our expectation is that Kogi State will be able to provide the bulk of support businesses and manpower requirement for the anticipated renaissance in mines and steel within the state,” he said.
