By Mumini AbdulKareem
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara has presented an upward review of 2021 Appropriation bill from an initial N123 billion to N134.6 billion.
The review was contained in the Governor’s message to the State House of Assembly read by the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Danladi, during a special plenary last week.
According to the governor’s message, the Capital Expenditure would now stand at N64.9 billion, while Recurrent Expenditure is put at N70.4 billion
The Speaker described the turn out of the lawmakers during the special plenary on the budget review, as collective dedication to serve the people of the state despite short notice.
Danladi referred the reviewed budget estimates to the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation for further legislative action
The 2021 Appropriation Bill which had passed the second reading at the Assembly was presented to the House by Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq on Dec. 15, 2020.
Meanwhile, the Kwara State Government has explained why it jerked up the budget estimates from N123bn to roughly N135bn.
The breakdown, according to a statement by the government included a review of the opening balance from N13.6bn to N19bn based on funds mopped up from across the MDAs; VAT from N14.6bn to N15.4bn; PAYE from N5.6bn to N5.8bn; administrative charges from N194.6m to N346.6m; Land Use charge from N124.8m to N174.8m; SFTAS capital receipt from N3.8bn to N6.1bn; and termed loan from N4bn to N6bn.
The statement also announced the receipt of N795,327, 222:21 as the third tranche of the 25% refund of unremitted PAYE from federal government’s MDAs domiciled in the state.
