Plateau Governor, Simon Lalong
By Raymond Gukas, Jos
Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong has signed into law the revised 2020 Appropriation Bill into law which is now lowered by over N50billion.
Governor Lalong while performing the ceremony in Jos said the revised budget became necessary because of the need to take care of the realities of COVID-19 which has greatly affected the economy of the state.
According to him, “For us as a state, the impact has been huge as our earnings have drastically fallen even in the face of demands for funds to carry out statutory responsibilities and also respond to the challenges of the corona virus pandemic.”
He said the government engaged in various cost-cutting measures to enable it manage the lean resources efficiently and also try to fulfill the most basic responsibilities of providing services to the citizens.
Lalong reiterated the commitment of his administration to working through the challenging period by effectively applying available resources to the most critical areas that will benefit the people and assist in bequeath a lasting legacy for the people of the state.
He then directed the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning as well as all MDAs to ensure strict and effective implementation in line with extant financial regulations.
Commenting on funding the budget, the governor reiterated that a reputable revenue collection firm has been engaged to improve on revenue targets, especially the Internally Generated Revenue which is crucial to funding it.
He also explained that the Government will continue to strengthen the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA); the Efficiency Unit; Bureau for Public Procurement; Liquidity Management Committee; as well as the Project Monitoring and Result Delivery Unit (PMRDU) to maximise resources and eliminate wastages.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning Mr. Sylvester Wallangko explained that the revised budget consists of N42.8 billion for capital expenditure and N79.9 billion for recurrent expenditure.
He further said the revised budget is in deficit of N21,709,429,246,00 which will be funded from loans from domestic and external sources. The 2020 budget was revised from N177,340,521,174.00 to N122, 848,822,913.00.
