Kwara Gov Presents N181bn Budget for 2018

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, has presented a budget estimate of N181, 886, 056, 555.00 for the 2018 financial year.

Laying the budget before the lawmakers at the state House of Assembly yesterday, Ahmed said the proposed budget reflects an increase of N15,781,009,150 or 9.5 percent compared to the 2017 Revised Appropriation.

Tagged: ‘Budget of Sustained Growth and Prosperity,” the sum of N75,204,257,902 representing 41.3 percent is for recurrent expenditure, while total sum of N106,681,798,630 which represents 58.7 percent is earmarked for capital expenditure.

Under the recurrent expenditure, N46,567,379,761 representing 62 percent is allocated as overhead cost which includes subventions to parastatals, support grants and contributions including overhead cost of tertiary institutions in the state.

Personnel cost is expected to gulp N13,918,001,894 or 18.5 percent of the total recurrent expenditure

The governor explained that the 2018 budget proposal is formulated using the zero-based budgeting approach and its projections were based on the federal government adopted assumptions of oil price benchmark of $45 per barrel and oil production estimate of two point three million barrels per day.

The economic affairs sector has the highest allocation of N53,744,166,521.00 which represents 54.4 percent of the total capital expenditure, while the health sector is allocated N23,918,380,992.00 representing 22.4 percent.

The education sector has an allocation of N12,628,47,156 which represents 11.8 percent, while public services has N7,550,770,62.00 representing 7.1 percent of the total expenditure.

Ahmed therefore said the government recorded 71 percent implementation of the 2017 budget with modest achievements in key sectors despite the economic challenges.

Responding, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Ahmad Ali, said, the state house of assembly would work on the budget and ensured that it is passed into law before December 31 this year so as to allow the government bring new lease of life to the people of the state.