Ahmed signs 2012 Appropriation Bill into law

The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, on Friday signed the 2012 Appropriation Bill of N91.329 billion into law, with a pledge to use the budget as the basis of creating shared prosperity for the people.
This was sequel to the passage of the budget proposals earlier presented by the governor to the state House of Assembly in December last year into law.

The Assembly, however, increased the budget size from N91.007 billion to N91.329 billion, representing an increase of about N322.484 million.
Speaking after signing the budget into law at the Government House, Ilorin, Ahmed described the exercise as another giant stride of his administration towards meeting the desire to bring about shared prosperity by putting together a budget of consolidation and development.
He said the budget was designed largely to stimulate the economy of the state so that his administration could meet the people’s aspiration for good governance.
According to him, the budget was designed to support the people in the areas of strong priorities of roads, education and human capital development, health, portable water supply and electricity, adding that it also seeks to stimulate economic development.
He said: “This is a clear picture of defining our concept of shared prosperity for our people and other key stakeholders.
“We sought to drive the budget largely from the yearnings of our people for strong desire to get dividends of democracy and also be part of the global change for growth and wealth creation.”
In order to actualise the objectives of the 2012 budget, Ahmed disclosed that his administration had put in place the concept of performance contracting, under which the budget is broken into action plans, defined by activities that are achievable within the first, second, third and the fourth quarters.
He expressed optimism that performance contracting would form the basis for assessment of all those who are involved in the implementation of the budget.
While expressing gratitude to the leadership and members of the House for the quick passage of the budget, Ahmed assured them that the budget provisions would be fully implemented.
The Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Barrister Rasak Atunwa, said that no single ministry was found to be frivolous and reckless during the budget defence, which he noted made the job easier for them.
The speaker disclosed further that the slight increase of about N322 million in the budget was in the overall interest and development of the state.
Atunwa also praised Ahmed for his financial prudence and assured him of the legislators’ continuous support and cooperation to achieve the objectives of the 2012 budget.