By Sadiq Abubakar
Maiduguri
Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima, yesterday presented an estimate of N170. 2 billion for the state’s 2018 budget to the state House of Assembly, with education getting the highest amount of N27 billion.
Addressing the lawmakers in Maiduguri yesterday, the governor announced that the draft titled “Budget of Resettlement and Empowerment” is to be financed from expected Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of over N16 billion; Federation Account of over N115.7 billion and Capital Receipt of over N38.4 billion.
Shettima explained that the total capital expenditure for the year is over N108. 4billion while the recurrent expenditure is over N61.8 billion. The 2018 budget size, he noted, is less than that of 2017 by slightly over N13. 5 billion, representing 7.38 per cent.
Announcing sectoral allocations, Shettima said N12.6 billion was set aside for infrastructure and management of secondary school education, N10.3 billion for tertiary schools and N4.4 billion for primary and junior secondary schools through the State’s Universal Basic Education Commission with the combined total for education standing at N27.2 billion.
Trailing education, the governor announced allocation of N22.6 billion for construction of major roads, drainage and transportation through the state Ministry of Works and Transport; N17.7 billion was set aside for healthcare infrastructure, consumables and other related needs; N9.8 billion to complete reconstruction of destroyed communities, rehabilitation and resettlement of victims of insurgency while N8 billion was set aside for agriculture.
The governor recalled that “during the 2017 fiscal year, the state government made deliberate efforts to reconstruct or rehabilitate all the major institutional structures and residential buildings in the various local government areas which were wantonly destroyed by the insurgents.”
