Governor Suswam Presents N105.1Billion Budget For 2014 Fiscal Year.

The Benue State government plans to spend the sum of N105.1 billion for the 2014 fiscal year.  Out of the amount, N41.6 billion is for capital expenditure while the sum of  N37.1 billion  is for personnel costs, N26.3 billion is for overhead costs.

The 2014 budget proposal is N31.3billion less than the N136.4billion approved budget for 2013.

The State Governor, Rt. Hon. Gabriel Suswam, who presented the 2014 appropriation proposals to the State House of Assembly, said his administration decided to propose a realistic budget for fiscal 2014 since it was the only full year budget before expiration of his tenure in May 2015.

He added that he  is  conscious of the dwindling accruals from the federation account, which he said  is the main source of the state’s revenue.

Christened “Budget of growth, revitalisation and transformation”, the governor said the 2014 budget would concentrate on completion of on-going projects across the state.

He said concerted efforts would be made to improve on the state’s internally-generated revenue which stood at about N6billion in the 2013 fiscal year.

Under the SURE-P job programme, the Suswan said 2,000 jobs will be for unemployed graduates in the civil service, to earn N20,000 each per month;500 jobs for nurses and other medical personnel for the health sector, 500 jobs each for teachers and sports while environmental sanitation will have 2,500 jobs and skills acquisition will attract 2,000 jobs, all of which will be placed on a monthly stipend of N10,000 each.

The governor announced the setting up of a joint committee of the legislature and the executive arms of government headed by Secretary to the State Government to monitor constituency projects usually embarked upon annually in the respective constituencies of the state legislators.