The Gombe State Government says Works and Infrastructure will take the largest chunk of the N176, 016, 202, 000 2023 budget, in order to continue to consolidate on the gains of the past three and a half years of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya’s Administration.
The Commissioner of Finance, Mr. Muhammad Gambo Magaji, told newsmen in Gombe during the Budget Breakdown, that Works and Infrastructure, had 14.82% of the budget, because it was to fulfill the yearnings of the people, who expressed their needs across the 144 wards of the state during the citizens’ budget engagement.
Mr. Magaji said infrastructure would continue to attract more attention because road networks were needed and necessary to open up the hinterlands, which would enable farmers to transport their goods, while schools would get the attention they deserve, especially with the upgrade of the five institutions to Model Schools across the state.
“All the five Model Schools are already ongoing and we hope that in 2023 the Model Schools would have been completed and students would begin to learn from those areas,” Mr. Magaji said.
He said another area where infrastructure would attract the larger part of the 2023 Budget was the three hospitals being erected in the three Senatorial Districts, which were nearing completion, especially with the recent approval of the State Executive Council for the equipping of the hospitals.
Similarly, the Gombe State Commissioner of Finance said the budget would further impact the lives of the people through agriculture, Youth Empowerment, among others.
In terms of agriculture, he said citizens had contributed to the budget which has been captured and provisions had been made for increased extension workers across all the agric offices in local government areas, which would be upgraded.
Mr. Magaji also said more youths would be recruited into the various government outfits of the state, where they will be engaged for the overall protection and development of the state.
In the meantime, the Gombe State Commissioner of Finance said education would take 12.9% of the budget, which will be N22,733,400,000.00, while health will take N14,831,945,000.00, as well as Environment and Portable Drinking water taking N12.256.004,000.00.
He said the journey made so far had been filled with collective sacrifices from the length and breadth of the State and that they were yielding positive developments across the State.
Overall, he said the preparation of 2023 proposed Budget was innovative and fully complied with the lnternational Public Sector Accounting Standard, IPSAS and that the government would leave no stone unturned to better the lives of the people of Gombe State.
In addition, Gombe State Government would continue to ensure the optimum utilisation of resources within the approved Budget while ensuring the adequate tracking of all income and expenditures in compliance with the relevant budgetary provision, he stressed.
This would serve as a feedback mechanism in order to achieve the desired objectives of providing the dividend of democracy to the people of Gombe State, he added.
