The State’s Commissioner of Finance and Budget Planning, Alhaji Zakari Abubakar, stated this while giving an insight into the State’s 2022 budget in Minna, the State capital.
The Commissioner said the present administration accords prime importance to the State Civil Service as a way of boosting their morale for the growth of the State.
“The administration has discovered that some civil servants in some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were not captured in the 2021 leave grants hence the need to ensure that such categories are adequately captured for the 2022 budget .
“In view of the importance the administration attaches to the welfare of civil servants the sum of 1, 331, 367,685, 91 Naira, representing 1.77 percent of the budget was allocated to the payment of civil servants’ leave grant.
“Agriculture will be accorded top priority in the year 2022 as the State gradually battles her way out of the devastating economic meltdown of COVID 19,” added Alhaji Zakari.
The commissioner further explained that a deliberate and sustained agricultural policy aimed at encouraging agricultural value chain for the State will be pursued as over Five Billion Naira was allocated to the sub-sector, which comprises improving Agricultural output at N3.7bn and livestock development at N1.7bn.
“There is no doubt that this government is determined to carry the Agricultural sector to another level as we look forward to diversify the economy of the State,” he reiterated.
He explained that under the economic sector, the State is also expected to spend the sum N6.46bn on debt-servicing in the the proposed budget.
The Commissioner revealed that the current debt profile of the State for both local and foreign creditors stood at N87bn, adding that some of the debt were inherited by the present administration.
He explained that out of the proposed budget of N198, 245, 654, 759.75, the State government is poised to borrow the sum of N100, 408, 817, 345.23, which represents over 50.6 percent of the total budget estimate.
“The amount consists of external, internal borrowing and grants from various sources towards the financing of the estimates,” he explained.
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