Kehinde Emmanuel, Ilorin
Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Wednesday laid the 2022 budget before the state parliament, with capital expenditure grabbing 55.3 percent of the fiscal plan and the remaining 44.7percent going for recurrent. The budget is 12.5 percent bigger than the revised budget of 2021, and focuses on completing ongoing projects and initiating new ones in the year. “The 2022 budget proposal we are presenting today has been designed to sustain the tempo of this phenomenal growth (we have recorded). It is therefore called Budget of Sustained Reformation for Inclusive Growth,” he said. “The size of the fiscal plan is N189,494,692,524, representing a 12.15% increase over the 2021 revised budget. It has 44.7% recurrent component, with provisions for payment of consequential adjustment of the minimum wage. With 55.3% capital expenditure, the objective is to fund ongoing projects and initiate new ones as resources permit. For instance, we plan to fund many priority power projects across the state, secondary water reticulation projects, shea butter processing plant at Omilende, Patigi hotel, rural roads under RAAMP, Montebeliarde Ranch project, KWASU campuses at Osi and Ilesha Baruba, among others. “The budget is built on the assumptions of oil price of 57 US Dollars per barrel; daily oil production estimate of 1.88 million barrels/day; Exchange rate of N410 per US Dollar; and GDP growth projected at 4.20 percent and inflation closing at 13 percent. “Funding windows include the traditional sources of federal allocation, internally generated revenue (IGR), the bond already accessed, and the bridge financing of the Federal Government.” The Governor said the administration has posted superlative performance in meeting basic needs of the people and repositioning the state for sustainable growth, although he insisted that a lot still needs to be done to cover new grounds. Accompanied by cabinet members and party leaders, AbdulRazaq commended the House of Assembly and the people of the state for their support in realising the goals of the administration. “I am presenting to this Honourable House a fiscal document which points the next phase of our service to the people of Kwara State,” AbdulRazaq said. “Over this period of time, we have delivered on our many electoral promises to restore the glory of Kwara State in basic education, basic healthcare, provision of potable water, extending development to the hinterlands, supporting smallholding and commercial agriculture, mainstreaming gender inclusion for sustainable growth, youths empowerment, easing the business climate, ensuring social mobility through equitable wealth distribution and employment opportunities, among others. “Our efforts are paying off as various data sets have shown. Of special note is how much we have done in retooling the local economy and deepening financial inclusion for the poor. In a recent survey, Kwara came first nationwide in enabling business environment index, second in perception of opportunities index, third in business performance index, and fourth in State Entrepreneurial Index.” He listed some ongoing projects of the administration to include the Innovation Hub, Visual Arts Centre, Osi-Obbo Road, Garment Factory, Ilesha-Gwanara Road, new Dental and Eye facilities at Ilorin General Hospital, Oro General Hospital, Lafiagi General Hospital, Kishi-Kaiama Road, International Conference Centre, the Tunde Idiagbon Bridge at Tanke, Special Agroprocessing Zone, and sporting facilities. He said the projects are part of the administration’s “strategic efforts to place Kwara among the most vibrant states in Nigeria”.
The budget presentation session was presided by the Rt. Hon Speaker Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, and attended by all the House members, cabinet members, traditional leaders, and party leaders from across the state. The government, meanwhile, has received the first tranche of €3.5m from the French Development Agency to implement some of the projects captured under the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) across the state. The disbursement was made to all the 13 states participating in the project. The government will also have to pay additional N200m counterpart funds for year 2021 to access the €3.5m from the dedicated accounts for the project. It would be recalled that the administration has so far paid N400m counterpart funds since 2019. The first receipt will be followed by preliminary works like consultancy services and procurement processes for the project, according to the statement from the state RAAMP office.
