Governor Yahaya bello: signs the budget into law

Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi  state on Monday signed the state’s 2016 appropriation bill of N99.9 billion into law.

It comprised N41.71 billion as capital and N58.228 billion as recurrent expenditure.

Assenting to the bill in Lokoja, Bello described it as budget of change and promised its full implementation.

According to him, a budget monitoring implementation committee will be set up to coordinate and monitor its full implementation.

Governor Bello: signs amidst witnesses.

He said that government was fully aware of the implication of the drop in the allocation from the Federation Account.

He said the state Internal Revenue Service had been directed to embark on aggressive revenue collection to address the shortfall.

Bello promised to be fair and transparent in the management of the state’s scarce resources and commended the state House of Assembly for ensuring its speedy passage in spite of unnecessary distractions.

The Speaker of the house, Ahaji Ahmed Umar who was represented at the signing ceremony, described the event as the beginning of a new direction towards alleviating the suffering of the people.

The Special Adviser on Legislative Matters to the Governor, Mr. Haruna Okpanachi, commended the lawmakers for their support for the executive arm, urging them to remain steadfast in the determination to deliver dividends of democracy to the people.