Bauchi assembly passes 2022 budget of N197.5bn into law

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Bauchi assembly passes 2022 budget of N197.5bn into law

Bauchi State House of Assembly has passed the 2022 Appropriation Bill of N197,475,607,143.85 into law.

The budget was passed during the Assembly’s plenary on Friday presided over by Speaker Abubakar Suleiman.

This shows an increase of N2.12 billion.

The PUNCH had reported that the Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, had, on November 18, 2021, presented a budget proposal of N195,355,607,143 for the 2022 fiscal year to the Assembly for consideration and passage.

The governor said that the budget, christened ‘Budget of Consolidation and Continuous Commitment,’ and comprised of recurrent expenditure of N84.735bn (43 per cent) and capital expenditure received N110.620bn (57 per cent), was 8.5 per cent lower than the 2021 budget.

The Chairman, House Committee on Budget and Appropriation, Abdulkadir Dewu, representing Kirfi Constituency, presented the report of his Committee to the lawmakers.

According to him, “The Committee recommended that the total sum of N197,475,607,143.85 only be passed into law.

“Out of which N85,057,580,518,58 only is for recurrent expenditure representing 43 per cent while the sum of N112,418,026,625.27 only is for capital expenditure representing 57 per cent of the total budget.”

He said that the committee recommended that the House should commend the Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammad, the Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning and the Accountant General of the state for the timely presentation of the 2022 budget, the performance of 2021 budget and the timely hosting of the 2021 budget performance on the official website of the office of the Accountant General.

Dewu added that “the Committee also recommended that the House should reemphasise and maintain its earlier resolution on a vote of no confidence passed on the Commissioner of Education over his contemptuous behaviour before the House Committee on Education during the 2022 budget defence exercise.”

After the House adopted the recommendations of the report, the Majority Leader, Tijjani Aliyu representing Azare/Madangala Constituency, moved a motion urging the lawmakers to pass the 2022 Appropriation Bill into law.

His motion was seconded by the Minority Leader, Bakoji Bobbo representing Chiroma Constituency.

The Speaker, Abubakar Suleiman, put the motion to a voice vote and the lawmakers unanimously approved. Thereafter, he directed the Clerk of the House Umar Gital to carry out the third reading which marked the passage of the Bill into law.