The Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, on Wednesday presented the 2015 financial budget estimated at N80,815,405,545 to the state House of Assembly.
The proposed budget is made up of recurrent estimate of N42,162,221,001.00 and capital estimate of N38,651,181,544.
Presenting the budget on the floor of the Niger State House of Assembly, Aliyu said the 2015 budget is expected to be financed through Statutory Allocation estimated at N51.93 billion, Value Added Tax estimated at N10.8 billion, Internally Generated Revenue estimated at N9 billion and Capital Receipts estimated at N9 billion.
The recurrent expenditure is estimated at N42.8 billion made up of Personnel Cost estimated at N27.1 billion, Overhead Cost of N9.4 billion, Consolidated Fund Charges estimated at N5.5 billion.
The budget, which is tagged: “Budget of Shared Vision and Unlimited Opportunities,” is expected to reflect the administration’s collective desire to make Niger State a better place.
Aliyu said: “We believe the common vision we share as a people will remain our guiding principle for propelling Niger State to greater heights to the pride and admiration of the present and future generations.
“I believe today, almost eight years into our administration, we have every reason to be proud Nigerlites because the statistics, records and physical evidence abound in all the nooks and crannies of our state.
“We are always pleased with the testimonies of the impact we are making in the lives of the people at the grassroots, who are direct beneficiaries of our policies and programmes.
“It is therefore gratifying that all of us – I mean all of us, in the executive, legislature and judiciary, and even our party’s card carrying members and supporters – have played historically significant roles in writing this glorious chapter in the annals of Niger State.”
The governor also said that the resource projection for 2015 budget was guided by a realistic consideration of the current economic situation and the necessity to respond appropriately to the threat posed by the downward spiral of crude oil prices on our major revenue heads, specifically, Statutory Allocation from the Federation Account.
According to him: “Niger State is hit with a double-edged sword because about 80 per cent our revenue is from the federation account, which is oil dependent, and the remaining 20 per cent largely made up of Internally Generated Revenue also influenced by oil revenue since over 70 per cent of the IGR is made up of the PAYE deducted directly from salaries.
“Anything that affects salary payments also affects the IGR.
“Our projection therefore is most justifiable given the scenarios playing out in the global oil politics, which has remained cloudy and unpredictable.”