Plateau govt proposes N133 billion budget for 2021

Manjang made the disclosure on Friday in Jos at a news briefing at the end of an emergency meeting of the State Executive Council.

The commissioner, who said that the budget proposal would soon be presented to the state House of Assembly, described it as “realistic in view of the current economic downslide’’ in the country.

He said the government budgeted N83.9 billion for capital expenditure N49.5 billion for recurrent expenditure.

“If you place this against the revised budget of 2020, which was N122.8 billion, there is an increase of about N10.6 billion which amounts to an increase of 8.7 per cent ,” he said.

The Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mr Sylvester Wallangko, who was also at the news briefing, put the projected revenue at N110.8 billion, leaving a deficit of N22.6 billion.

He said the deficit would be financed through bank loans, external sources and the sale of government assets.

Meanwhile, the Information Commissioner also disclosed that the executive had received an interim report on the damages incurred during the EndSars protests in the state in which property put at N75 billion were destroyed.

“The N75 billion, as it stands today, is for equipment and structures that were vandalised by suspected hoodlums who hijacked the protests,’’ he said.

The commissioner explained that the committee which compiled the damages visited 31 sites where public and private property were destroyed,’’ he said. (NAN)