Delta State Government Budgets N327.6bn For 2015

Ignatius Okpara, Asaba

Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, of Delta state on Wednesday presented a budget estimate of N327.68bn for 2015 to the state House of Assembly for consideration and approval.

The proposal is made up of recurrent estimates of N161.6bn and a capital estimate of N166.07bn.

The 2015 estimates are lower than that of last year, 2014 fiscal estimates by N123.05bn.

Uduaghan stated that the decrease was due to the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market.

Sectoral breakdown of the capital estimates shows that a lion’s share of N50.32bn would go to the economic sector.

However, the sum of N34bn has been allocated to the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission.

The Governor, disclosed that N68.53bn of the recurrent estimates was allocated to personnel costs, N51.33bn for overhead costs and N41.69bn set aside for consolidated revenue charges.

He listed sources of funding for the budget to include the monthly statutory allocation from the federal account, including mineral revenue derivation, representing 63.74 per cent while internally generated revenue IGR would be 18.6 per cent.

Said the Governor:, “The 2015 budget is driven by the successes recorded in various sectors of the state’s economy in the past seven years up to the 2014 Budget of Consolidation, Sustainable Economic Growth and Development.

“The 2015 budget is aimed at consolidating the achievement of 2014 budget as well as completing all on-going projects and programmes that will facilitate the fulfilment of the administration’s goal of making Delta State one of the most industrialised and developed states in Nigeria by 2020″ he stated.