The Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, on Tuesday presented the sum of ₦189.4 billion to the state House of Assembly as proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year.
Christened “Budget of Advancement, Growth and Development,” the governor noted that since the state had achieved relative peace in the last one year, his administration could now focus on pursuing the growth and development of the state with vigour.
He explained further that the draft 2020 budget was premised on an exchange rate of N305 to the dollar with crude oil production estimate of 2.18 million barrels per day and the crude oil price estimate of $55 per barrel.
“On that basis, we have proposed the sum revenue of One Hundred and Eighty-Nine Billion, Four Hundred and Eighty-Three Million, Five Hundred and Eleven Thousand and Twenty-Five Naira 189,483,511,025) only.
He said the state government plans to finance the budget from its share of N42,760,945,940 disbursements from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), N31,885,665,929 independent revenue and Value Added Tax (VAT) with a proposed figure of N13,332,049,543.
The governor also presented a supplementary appropriation bill of N7,075,912,233 to the Assembly for passage into law.
Responding, the Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Titus Uba, who described the 2020 budget presentation as historic, posited that it was the earliest budget to be presented in the state since 1999.
While commending the state governor for his proactiveness, Uba urged all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to appear before the committees as early as possible to enable the quick passage of the budget.