Bauchi Assembly enacts a N202.641 billion appropriation for 2023

The State 2023 Appropriation Bill has been signed into law by the Bauchi State House of Assembly.

According to PulseNets, the House Committee on Budget and Appropriations approved the report that was previously presented to the Assembly by the Committee’s chairman, Abdulkadir Umar Dewu, who represents the Kirfi Constituency, on the proposed budget estimates for 2023.

The Committee had determined that the amount of 202,641,558,614.46 is allocated for the fiscal year 2023, which is 2.5% more than the 2022 Appropriation Law, after thorough and in-depth examination of the budget document and reports given by several committees.

The Committee went on to say that it had obtained from the Ministries of Budget and Economic Planning and Finance and Economic Development the combined copies of the 2022 budget performances and revenue profiles, which included statutory allocations, VAT, capital receipts, and internally generated revenue from January to November 2022, for guidance prior to the start of the 2023 budget defence in regard to all MDAs in the State.

A Fiscal Responsibility Commission should be established to ensure transparency, probity, and accountability in terms of management of public funds by all MDAs in the State, especially in light of the technical nature of the 2023 Budget document, which represents a paradigm shift from the previous approach, and in light of the Committee’s recommendation that the Executive Arm establish the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.

It further suggested that in order to help all of the chairmen, members, and secretaries of standing committees comprehend the specifics of recent developments relevant to the budgeting system, the House should immediately arrange a series of training sessions and workshops.

After thoroughly examining all of the 2023 proposed budget estimates, the Committee recommends that the House consider and approve the total amount of 202,641,558,614.46 as the 2023 Appropriation Bill, of which 87,933,242,963.50 represents recurrent expenses and the remaining 114, 708,315,650.97 represents capital expenses.

The majority leader, Tijjani Muhammad Aliyu, asked for the third reading of the Bauchi State 2023 Appropriation Bill, which was backed by the minority leader, Hon. Bakoji Aliyu Bobbo. The House unanimously adopted the committee’s recommendations.

Following the members’ consent, the Speaker gave the Clerk of the House, Umar Yusuf Gital Esq, the order to conduct the third reading.

The Speaker praised the House Committee on Budget and Appropriations, which is led by Abdulkadir Umar Dewu, a representative of the Kirfi Constituency, as well as all other Standing Committees for their outstanding work in thoroughly scrutinising and carrying out all legislative processes in the allotted time.

While this was going on, Tijjani Muhammad Aliyu, the majority leader of the house and representative of the Azare/Madangala constituency, brought up a bill for a law to create the Bauchi State Border Communities Development Agency.

He outlined how, if passed into law, the bill that the government of Bauchi State has filed to the House will considerably enhance the quality of life for residents of Bauchi State who reside in the state’s border regions.

According to the Majority Leader, Bauchi State is bordered by seven other states, namely Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Yobe, Plateau, Gombe, and Taraba States. It is important to note that all of these states, with the exception of Kaduna State, have border disputes or problems with Bauchi State.

A National Border Areas Development Commission’s primary objectives are to develop international border regions and support any existing Subnational Borders Development Agencies.