The Plateau State House of Assembly, presided over by the Speaker, Moses Sule has approved the sum of N27 billion as supplementary budget for the state government for the 2023 Fiscal Year.
Sule, who read Gov. Caleb Mutfwang’s communication during plenary on Friday, said that the approval became expedient because of current realities.
Mutfwang had in the letter read by the speaker, said that the supplementary revenue, recurrent and capital expenditure, was to enable him execute his administration’s development agenda.
“The need to submit this document is in consideration of the fact that the budget already adopted was inherited by this administration upon assumption of office in May, 2023.
“The inherited budget is not a complete reflection of this administration’s agenda, hence, the need for the review.
“I hereby forward the 2023 Fiscal Year Proposed Supplementary Budget of N27 billion for your expeditious consideration and approval,” Mutfwang said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the house also approved Mutfwang’s request for a loan facility of N1.6 billion.
Sule in another communication from the governor, informed his colleagues that the facility was to enable Plateau State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB), access counterpart fund from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
Mutfwang in the second communication said that the counterpart fund would enable SUBEB access counterpart fund which the board had been unable to access from UBEC since the second half of 2021.
He said that the board’s inability to access the fund was because the government had also been unable to provide counterpart funding that would qualify the state to access the intervention money.
“In the light of the foregoing, I hereby request the honourable house’ approval to take a facility of N1.6 billion, to enable the state government pay the counterpart funding to access same from UBEC,’’ he requested.
Meanwhile the house had also resolved to move its plenary from the assembly complex to Old Government House, Jos.
The speaker told his colleagues that the relocation was to give the contractor handling the renovation of the assembly complex space to complete the project.
Also, during the Friday plenary, the bill to repeal the Plateau Energy Corporation Law 2020, and enact the Plateau State Electricity Market, Administration and Technical Law 2023, passed first reading. (NAN)
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