Borno: Education tops as Shettima presents N170bn 2018 budget to legislature

‎Governor Kashim Shettima on Thursday presented Borno’s 2018 Budget of N170.2 billion to the legislature.
Education got the highest amount of N27 billion in an estimate that allocated 65 percent for capital projects leaving recurring with N61.8 billion.

‎Addressing the State Assembly in Maiduguri, the Governor announced that the draft, titled ‘Budget of Resettlement and Empowerment’ is to be financed from expected Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N16,075,548,000.00; allocation from the Federation Account of N115,734,194,000.00 and Capital Receipt of N38,469,772,000.00.
He explained that the total capital expenditure is N108,408,580,000.00 and the total recurrent expenditure is N61,870,934,000.00. ‎The 2018 budget size, he explained, is less than that of 2017 by N13,560,875,081.00 which represents 7.38%.
Announcing sectoral allocations, Shettima said N12.6 billion was set aside for building infrastructures and management of Secondary school education; N10.3 billion for tertiary schools and N4.4 billion for primary and junior secondary schools through the State’s Universal Basic Education Commission with the combine total for education standing at N27.2 billion.
He announced allocation of N22.6 billion for construction of major roads, drainage and boosting transport through the State Ministry of Works and Transport; N17.7 billion for Healthcare infrastructures, consumables‎ and other related needs; N9.8 billion to complete reconstruction of destroyed communities, rehabilitation and resettlement of victims of insurgency while N8 billion was set aside for Agriculture.

Other sectors got different range of allocations less than the above listed.
The Governor recalled that “during the 2017 fiscal year, the State Government made deliberate efforts to reconstruct or rehabilitate all the major institutional structures and residential buildings in the various Local Government Areas which were wantonly destroyed by the insurgents”.
“I am happy to announce that most of the schools, health centres and residential houses in some of the Local Governments destroyed during the insurgency, have been reconstructed and services fully restored.
“These Local Governments include Konduga, Damasak, Dikwa, Askira/Uba, Kaga and Mafa. Also IDPs from these Local Governments as well as those from Damboa, Ngala and Monguno, have been safely returned to their homes.

“To ensure that these IDPs are engaged in some economic ventures, the State Government, during the period under review has undertaken the training of the youths and women in skills acquisition and also provided them with entrepreneurship kits and farm inputs.
“Building materials have also been distributed to some of the IDPs to rebuild their homes,” he noted.
Shettima listed numerous areas of achievements recorded by his administration in 2017, with specific mention of schools, roads, hospitals and houses constructed in addition to what was achieved in Agriculture, humanitarian needs among other areas.