2022 Budget: Ortom presents over N155.611bn to Benue Assembly

By Titus Atondu, Makurdi

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has  presented a total budget estimate of N155,611,390,265.82 (One Hundred and Fifty-Five Billion, Six Hundred and Eleven Million, Three Hundred and Ninety Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty-Five Naira, Eighty-Two Kobo)  to the state Benue State house of assembly for the 2022 fiscal year.

Ortom who made the budget presentation, explained that the total recurrent expenditure is estimated to be  N98,792,082,431.34 while capital expenditure stand at  N56,819,307,834.48

The Governor further explained that the year 2022 budget is N21,235, 8 72,856 higher than the year 2021 which represents 13.6% of the estimates.

The budget christened “Budget of Advancement and Growth,” is expected to be focused on programmes and projects that will take the state further along on the path to becoming an economically self-reliant federating unit of Nigeria.

The governor noted that his administration will continue to use the budget as an instrument to achieve the goals set out in the Benue State Development Plan 2016-2025.

“We will intensify our quest to create opportunities for jobs and wealth for our farmers and entrepreneurs while supporting our hard-pressed farmers and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to grow their operations.

“We will seek to complete ongoing infrastructure projects, promote community mobilisation for development security, and further invest in education, skills development and healthcare to ensure that we have the 21st century human capital that is suitable for the opportunities in this rapidly changing digital world,” he added.

The Speaker of the Benue State house of assembly, Rt. Hon. Titus Uba, urged heads of various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the State to cooperate with Assembly for  timely passage of the budget.