By M. Peter – Jos
The Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, has signed into law the 2020 budget which is pegged at N177, 340,521,177bn and directed the state Ministry of Finance to ensure adequate implementation of the budget.
To ensure effective implementation of the budget, the Governor disclosed his administration has approved the appointment of a revenue expert to facilitate the maximization of internally generated revenue accruable to the state so as to generate more money.
Lalong noted that such step needs to be taken if we are to implement the 2020 Budget and address the deficit from 2019 which hovers in the region of over N32bn.
While signing the document on Monday at the Government House, Little Rayfied, Jos, he stressed, “With this budget approved and signed into law, I am directing the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning and indeed all MDAs to ensure effective implementation of the 2020 budget.
“At this point, I will like to stress our efforts to meeting our revenue targets especially the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) which is crucial to funding the 2020 budget, apart from setting new targets for the State Internal Revenue Service, Government has approved the appointment of a reputable revenue expert to facilitate the maximization of internally generated revenue accruable to the state.
“We hope to generate more money through this engagement. This and more we must do if we are to implement the 2020 budget and address the deficit which hovers in the region of over thirty two billion Naira. Like I stated while laying the budget on the floor of the House, Funds will be sourced locally and internationally to close this deficit gap as the need arises.”
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Abok Ayuba also urged relevant implementing bodies to ensure they abide by the rule as the House would through its oversight functions monitor the progress and ensure the right things are done in the implementation of the budget.
The Speaker who got commendation from the Governor for working with other members of the House to give the budget the desired expedited attention further notified that “the 9th Assembly is different from others because of the seriousness of the members, you can attest to it that the issue of oversight is taken very seriously.
“From the beginning, we scrutinized the budget and threw out what was not supposed to be there and brought in what supposed to be there. We will follow all the ministries and make sure the implementation is effective; we will ensure they implement the budget up to at least 80%.”
