On Tuesday, the Gombe State House of Assembly endorsed a budget of N208.064 billion for the state’s fiscal year of 2024, marking a slight increase of N300 million from the initial submission of N207.75 billion by Governor Inuwa Yahaya. This update was conveyed through a statement by the House’s Chief Information Officer, Mr. Umaru Ma’aji, released on Wednesday in Gombe.
In response to this development, Speaker Abubakar Luggerewo, as per the statement, expressed gratitude to the lawmakers for their cooperation and support in the handling of the Appropriation Bill.
Ma’aji further elaborated that the bill was passed after meticulous scrutiny and presentation by the House Committee on Appropriation regarding the 2024 budget estimate.
The Chairman of Appropriation on the 2024 budget, Mr. Aliyu Baba-Manu, highlighted that the budget primarily prioritizes the completion of ongoing projects within the state.
As outlined in the statement, Baba-Manu pointed out an observation made by his committee: most budget officers in the MDAs lacked familiarity with the budget provisions outlined in the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF).
Consequently, he recommended that the budget office should transmit the executive council’s approved budget to ministries, emphasizing the need to consider the N208 billion budget size for 2024.
Governor Yahaya initially presented a 2024 budget proposal of N207.75 billion to the House on December 4. This proposal allocated 42% (N87.25 billion) for recurrent expenditure and 58% (N120.5 billion) for capital expenditure.
The budget, which is Yahaya’s first in his second tenure, is tagged: “Budget of Continuity and Consolidation.”
