Kogi - Gov. Idris Wada of Kogi on Tuesday presented an Appropriation Bill of N130.9 billion for 2013 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly.
Presenting the bill on the floor of the house, Wada said the budget tagged ``Budget of Transformation", was tailored toward meeting the yearnings and aspirations of the people.
He said that the budget was N4.7 billion or 3.5 per cent higher than the approved estimate of N126.2 billion budgeted for year 2012.
The governor said that that N65.5 billion of the 2013 budget would be spent on Recurrent Services while N65.4 billion would be expended on Capital Programmes and Projects.
Of the estimated total revenue projected for the 2013 fiscal year, the governor said N78.2 billion was expected from recurrent resources while N52.7 billion would be derived from capital receipts.
On sectoral allocations, transport sector got the lion share of N20.49 billion followed by general administration with N13.85 billion while education took the third place with N7.21 billion.
Others are health, N4.41 billion; water N5 billion; agriculture, N2.78 billion; housing, N1.75 billion; electrification, N1.34 billion; information, sports and social development, N1.15 billion while manufacturing sector got N920 million.
Wada said the budget was prepared with the ``strategic underpinning foundation’’ of moving the state where it ought to be in the nearest future.
``A well-planned budget is an instrument of economic policy, accountability and a management tool. It ensures financial discipline and curtails unnecessary expenditure," he noted.
The governor used the opportunity to thank the people of Kogi ``for their unflinching support and public spirited individuals and organisations, religious bodies, national and international agencies for their assistance to flood victims in the state.
Earlier, the Speaker of the house, Alhaji Momo-Jimoh Lawal, commended the governor's prudence in management of resources having managed the state without borrowing or asking for supplementary budget.
Lawal promised accelerated passage of the bill, saying that budget provided the opportunity for the executive and legislature to collaborate and co-manage the economy for sustainable development. (NAN)