BENUE State governor, Dr Samuel Ortom, has signed the revised 2020 state budget of N108.82 billion into law, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Governor Ortom, who signed the revised budget on Monday at Government House, Makurdi, said the initial budget estimate for 2020 was N190.89 billion.
“This figure represents a reduction of N80,660 billion or 43 per cent from the approved year 2020 revenue estimates,” he said, adding that the recurrent expenditure had been reduced from N108.55 billion to N68.56 billion in the revised approved 2020 Budget.
“Personnel cost, N50,637 billion to N37, 286 billion while overhead is reduced from N63,911 billion to N31,271 billion,” the governor said.
“Capital cost is reduced from N74,934 billion to N40,265 billion and the total reduced from N190,886 billion to N108,822 billion.
“You will all recall that the 2020 budget was reviewed and passed by the State House of Assembly and I duly signed it into law on Dec. 30, 2019 for implementation with effect from Jan. 1, 2020.
“However, by the end of the first quarter it became clear that we must revise the budget as a result of the global economic shocks created by the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia and the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is in response to these changing circumstances that we have been forced to revise the macroeconomic projections on which the approved budget was set.”
The governor further said based on the projections, the state was facing a fall in both oil-related and non-oil revenues, which could be between 57 per cent to 67 per cent drop over the course of the year.
He stressed that income from traditional revenue sources such as earnings, tax, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) under-recovery (now zero) and Value Added Tax (VAT) is expected to decline along with the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
“Needless to say, these adjustments have made it necessary for us to revise the approved 2020 budget,” Ortom added.
