A meeting of Katsina state Executive council presided over by Governor Aminu Bello Masari has ended in katsina.
Shortly after the meeting, the state commissioner of information, culture and Home Affairs, Alhaji Abdulkareem Yahaya Sirika led two other members of the state executive council to brief the press on the deliberations during the meeting.
They are commissioners of Budget and Economic Planning Alhaji Faruk Lawal Jobe and that of Science, Technology and Innovation, Alhaji Rabe Nasir.
The Budget and Economic Planning commissioner told newsmen that the meeting fundamentally reviewed the state budget for the second time.
He said that the state budget, which was approved in January, this year was earlier reviewed following the review made by the federal government when it cut oil price bench mark from 57 dollars per barrel to 30 dollars per barrel.
Alhaji Faruk Lawal Jobe announced that the federal government had for the second time reviewed the oil price bench mark from 30 dollars per barrel to 25 dollars per barrel.
It was in the light of this, he said that the executive council meeting further cut down the size of the state budget to conform with Economic realities of the time.
Alhaji Faruk Jobe announced that the total budget size now will be 179, 199, 378,, 411-00k as against the previous revised budget of 205, 453, 094, 255-00k.
He recalled that the previous revised budget had a deficit despite the fact that the state government had cut down its expenditures in the areas of both capital and recurrent.
Based on the revenues expected, he said government had in the first reviewed budget had a deficit of over 8.2 billion Naira.
With the second review, Alhaji Faruk Lawal Jobe announced that the state government expects to have a deficit budget of over 3.5 billion Naira.
Essentially, the budget and economic planning commissioner said it is not just the oil price that necessitated the review of the budget but the issue of Covid-19 too.
He said most of the budget indices have changed and government had to do something to address the issue of the pandemic.
Alhaji Faruk Jobe announced that the total expenditure in the second review on Covid-19 is about 19.56percent.
He said that the second reviewed budget will now be taken to the state house of assembly for passage into law.
