Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, on Friday, signed the Gombe State 2024 Appropriation Bill into law, amounting to the sum of £208,064,000,000.00 as passed by the Gombe State House of Assembly.
The signing of the budget was performed by the Governor at a brief ceremony held at the Council Chambers of the Government House, Gombe.
The House of Assembly had, while passing the budget, increased the size by £300,000,000.00 from the initial proposal submitted by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, which was £207,750,200,000.00.
The breakdown of the budget indicates an allocation of 58% for capital expenditure and 42% for recurrent, indicating a rise in the capital expenditure for the first time in the budget of the state.
Performing the ceremony, the Governor commended the Lawmakers for the expeditious passage of the appropriation bill, appreciating the longstanding collaboration between the Executive and Legislative arms, particularly in maintaining the January to December budget cycle.
According to him, “Let me commend the leadership and members of the House of Assembly, especially the House Committee on Appropriations for the enormous work done to ensure the expeditious passage of the appropriation bill.”
Inuwa Yahaya said that, “The speedy passage of the bill reaffirmed the harmonious relationship between the executive and the legislative arms.”
The Governor said that, “Since our assumption of office during our first tenure in 2019, the House of Assembly has always been cooperative. The Lawmakers have never failed to act on our requests for the passage of annual or supplementary budgets, and on all other requests that needed the approval of the House. We are grateful for the support of the House to our leadership.”
Inuwa Yahaya further emphasised his commitment to continued synergy with the lawmakers towards providing effective leadership for the betterment of the citizen and fostering economic development and prosperity in the state.
He said that the 2024 budget, tagged ‘Budget of Continuity and Consolidation’, will leverage on the gains of the previous budgets, maintaining that the Appropriation Act has resources allocated for increased infrastructure, enhanced healthcare services, improved education, human capital development, and job creation, among other priorities.
Speaking at the event, the Speaker of the Gombe State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mohammed Abubakar Luggerewo, commended the Governor on the 2023 budget performance, assuring continued legislative support to ensure that the 2024 budget surpasses that of the 2023 in terms of performance.
The Speaker said that, “As we present the approved 2023 appropriation bill for the Governor’s assent, I want to express the gratitude of all Honourable Members of the State House of Assembly to His Excellency for the budget items.”
According to him, “The budget reflects the Governor’s commitment to the well-being of Gombe people. It is based on this that we recognize crucial areas needing attention and augmented the budget by £300 million.”
The Deputy Governor, Dr. Manassah Daniel Jatau, lawmakers, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibrahim Abubakar Njodi, Head of Service, Alh. Ahmed Kasimu Abdullahi, Commissioners and other top government functionaries were also at the Council Chamber to witness the signing of the budget.
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