By Gbenga Akingbule.
Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, on Wednesday, vowed to deal ruthlessly with persons aiding and abetting criminal activities within the nooks and crannies of the state.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Governor who presented N340 billion appropriation bill before the State House of Assembly seized the occasion to commend the Military, Police and other security agencies for their roles in fighting insecurity in the state.
Zulum who disclosed this during the budget presentation said that the security sector will continue to receive top priority, pointing out that “no meaningful development can be achieved without peace and stability.”
According to the Governor, the state has witnessed its share of security challenges as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency, noting that the situation had affected all sectors of human endeavours “leading to the involuntary displacement of people from their ancestral communities; thus creating undue suffering, hardship and misery”.
“Under my leadership, we shall continue to deal ruthlessly with all those that are trying to bring insecurity to the State,” Zulum said
The Governor added that the “Government will continue to demolish all existing illegal structures in Borno State to free the state capital from nefarious activities.”
Tagged “Budget of Consolidation and Progress” a total of N198,293,223,000 was allocated for capital expenditure while N142,326,613,000.00 was allocated for recurrent expenditure.
The budget, Zulum noted, will be financed from the recurrent revenue of N206,803,053,000.00 which comprises FAAC revenue and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and capital receipts of N128,816,783,000.00, comprising of Aid and Grant as well as capital development funds.
According to the sectoral allocations, the Ministry of Finance got N53b allocated for its capital and recurrent expenditures including debt servicing, salary payment and gratuities to the retirees.
Health was allocated N51b, Education N39b, while N45b was allocated to Works and Housing.
Other sectors like the Ministry of Agriculture got N13b, the Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement got N20b, the Ministry of Water Resources got N9.7b and the Ministry of Information and Internal Security got N9.6b.
Speaker of Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan, commended Governor Zulum for his achievements over the years.
He assured the Governor of the State Assembly’s resolve and commitment to pass the appropriation bill on time.
