By Asma’u Ahmad
Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has presented the state’s 2019 budget estimates of N169.652 billion to the State House of Assembly for consideration.
Tambuwal said that the sum of N99.184 billion was for capital projects while the sum of N70.468 billion was for recurrent expenditure.
Gov. Aminu Tambuwal
He said that the 2019 budget which was tagged “Budget of Consolidation for Sustainable Growth and Development,’’ would focus on completion of projects started in 2018 and execution of new ones.
Tambuwal stated that 2019 would be the fourth year of his administration, thereby stressing the need to consolidate on all the administration’s achievements.
‘‘This is to set such achievements into motion so as to improve the living standard of our people. “For the fourth year running, the education sector got the highest allocation of over N47.4 billion, representing 27.9 per cent of the total estimates,’’ he added.
The governor explained that the policy thrust of the budget was to ensure sustainable economic development through substantial investment in critical sectors.
He said that the sectors included education, agriculture, healthcare delivery, exploration of mineral resources, investment in renewable energy and infrastructure.
The health sector got N21.9 billion and general administration had N21.1 billion. The Speaker, Alhaji Salihu Maidaji, said that the lawmakers would ensure swift passage of the budget to maintain the frequency of development in the state.
