By Adedapo Adesanya
Both Enugu and Jigawa States have signed their respective revised budgets for the year 2020 into law.
In Enugu State, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi signed into law the revised 2020 budget of N146.3 billion.
The budget represents a 13.6 per cent decrease after a downward review from N169.5 billion initially proposed in December 2019.
Out of the budget size, the capital expenditure stands at N69.7 billion while the recurrent expenditure is N76.5 billion, representing 48 per cent and 52 per cent respectively.
Governor Ugwuanyi signed the budget on Wednesday in the presence of his deputy, Mrs Cecilia Ezeilo, the Speaker of the House, Mr Edward Ubosi, members of the State Executive Council, among other top government functionaries.
While thanking the lawmakers for their diligent and expeditious passage of the budget, the governor said he was optimistic that the budget of responsive and accountable governance will enable his administration to consolidate its developmental agenda.
The budget was revised in response to the negative consequences of the outbreak of COVID-19 on the economy.
Also, in Jigawa State, Governor Badaru Abubakar signed into law the revised 2020 budget of N124.4 billion which was recently passed by the State House of Assembly.
While signing the budget, the governor said the 2020 budget size was reduced by 19 per cent from N153.9 to N124.4 billion.
He explained that this represented a decrease of N28.6 billion, noting that the review became necessary due to the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy.
The governor added that the 2020 local government budget has also been reduced from N72.5 billion to N56.2 billion, representing a drop of N16.3 billion.
According to him, COVID-19 has come with many challenges ranging from revenue declining, additional spending on healthcare, and drop of oil prices which necessitated the review of the 2020 Appropriation Bill in the state.
Modupe Gbadeyanka