Economic Confidential, January, 2009

STATES

Budget Proposals of Anambra, Gombe, Bayelsa, and Kwara

Anambra Presents N75 Billion Budget

Anambra State Governor Mr. Peter Obi presented a N74.952 budget proposal to the state House of Assembly for 2009 fiscal year. The budget is made up of 27.259 billion recurrent expenditure and 47.692 billion capital expenses.

In the recurrent expenditure, personnel cost takes lion share of 11.268 billion, followed by consolidated revenue fund charges of 7.061 billion, which includes funds for the payment of pensions, gratuities, public debt obligations and other statutory disbursements.

While presenting the budget tagged "Budget of Integrated DevelopmentI", the governor said the budget would help to sustain the integrated development strategy of his administration, modeled after the goals of the Millennium Development Strategy and the President's Seven Point Agenda, which has proved to be a reliable instrument of development, the sustenance of which would further improve the welfare of the people of the state.

Gombe Plans to Spend N51.64b in 2009

GOMBE State Government is to spend the sum of N51.64 billion, in the 2009 fiscal year, against N65.29 billion approved in 2008, representing a decrease of 31.1 per cent. The budget is made up of N20.67 billion as recurrent expenditure and N30.96 billion as capital expenditure with the assurance that all ongoing projects and programmes will be completed and commissioned for the use of the people of the state.

While presenting the budget proposal to the State House of Assembly, the State Governor, Muhammad Danjuma Goje explained that the recurrent budget recorded a slight decrease of 1.1 per cent over the 2008 budget, while the capital expenditure recorded a decrease of 30 per cent over the same 2008 budget, which he said, was on the premise that his administration would complete all projects to which contractual agreements have been entered into.

He, however, explained that the drop in the proposal for the 2009 fiscal year was due to the global economic recession, which has affected revenue generation, as the global price of oil has fallen, which has in turn, affected the allocation to states from the Federation Account.

Bayelsa Proposes N160.8b budget for 2009

Bayelsa State government has proposed a budget of N160.8 billion for 2009.

Presenting the budget to the State House of Assembly, Governor Timpreye Slyva said the budget, which was tagged "Budget of Consolidation and Wealth Creation" comprises of recurrent expenditure of N66.9 billion or 42 per cent and N93.9 billion or 58 per cent of the budget. According to him, the recurrent expenditure will consist of personnel costs of at N17.1 billion, overhead costs put at N25.1 billion and the consolidated revenue fund charges, N24.8 billion.

Sylva said the 2009 budget proposals will provide for the completion of the massive physical infrastructure initiatives which his administration started in the course of the current fiscal year.

Accordingly to him, 2009 expenditure estimates include outstanding obligations on existing budget commitments to the tune of N10.1 billion, which have been approved for payment but will not have attained the required 45 day payment period as at the end of the year.

Kwara Presents N74billion Budget for 2009

Kwara State Governor, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, presented a budget proposal of N72.2 billion to the state House of Assembly for 2009.

Presenting the budget proposal, Saraki said the 2009 Appropriation reflects a marginal increase of N8.452 per cent, as against the total budget size of N66.5billion for 2008.According to him, a breakdown shows the sum of N29.7 billion for total recurrent revenue, N27.8 billion as total recurrent expenditure, with N2.6 billion as total recurrent surplus. Proposed capital receipts in the coming year has the sum of N45.1 billion with N45.136 billion proposed for total capital expenditure in various sectors of the economy.