Emmanuel Awari-Jalingo
Taraba State House of Assembly on Wednesday passed the 2023 budget appropriation bill into law.
The budget estimate was increased by N500,000,000 according to the speaker, Prof Joseph Albasu Kunini, who said the increment was to ensure balanced allocation across ministries for effective governance.
Kunini explained that the Taraba State Independent Electoral Commission (TSEIC) was not captured in the 2023 budget presented by Governor Darius Ishaku due to human error and it was necessary for the state to conduct her local government elections in 2023, in accordance with the provision of the law.
He added that the assembly thought it wise to jack up the budget and allocate N500,000,000 to the commission to enable it to conduct the exercise.
The 2023 appropriation bill scaled through third reading and is awaiting the assent of the state governor.
The approved 2023 budget by the lawmakers now stands at N173, 234, 537, 456.40 as against the N172, 734, 537, 459.40 presented to the assembly by the state governor.
The Speaker said the additional N500 million injected by the lawmakers will serve the State Independent Electoral Commission, SIEC.
He explained that the lawmakers observed that the Commission had no appropriation in the 2023 budget presented to the assembly by the state governor, hence the addition of N500 million to enable the Commission conduct Local government elections.
Governor Ishaku had on Tuesday, November 29, presented the 2023 budget estimate of N172,734,537,459.
According to the governor, the budget was prepared at a critical period due to its political transition and economic consideration of the devastating effect of floods, threats of banditry, and other challenges.
The governor said the budget was significant to consolidate the achievements of his administration so far and provide a robust take off of the incoming administration.