Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong has signed into law the revised 2020 Appropriation Bill.

The 2020 Budget was revised from the initial N177,340,521,174.00 to N122,848,822,913.00.

Governor Lalong while performing the ceremony at the new Government House, said the revised budget became necessary because of the need to take care of the realities of COVID-19 which has greatly affected the economy of the State.

He said:

“For us as a State, the impact has been huge as our earnings have drastically fallen even in the face of demands for funds to carry out statutory responsibilities and also respond to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

“That is why we engaged in various cost-cutting measures to enable us manage the lean resources efficiently and also try to fulfill our most basic responsibilities of providing services to our citizens.”

He reiterated the commitment of his administration to working through this challenging period by effectively applying available resources to the most critical areas that will benefit our people and assist us bequeath a lasting legacy for the people of Plateau State.

He directed the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning as well as all MDAs to ensure its strict and effective implementation in line with extant financial regulations.

On funding the budget, Governor Lalong said a reputable revenue collection firm has been engaged to improve on revenue targets, especially the Internally Generated Revenue which is crucial to funding the 2020 budget.

He also explained that the government will continue to strengthen the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA); the Efficiency Unit; Bureau for Public Procurement; Liquidity Management Committee; as well as the Project Monitoring and Result Delivery Unit (PMRDU) to maximise resources and eliminate wastages.

Commissioner for Budget and Planning Mr Sylvester Wallangko explained that the revised budget consists of 42.8 Billion naira for capital expenditure and 79.9 billion naira for recurrent expenditure.

He further said the revised budget is in deficit of Twenty-seven billion, seven hundred and nine million, four hundred and twenty one naira (N21,709,429,246,00) which will be funded from loans from domestic and external sources.