|! am humbled and delighted to be part of today’s epoch making in a public hearing on this bill in the Kogi State House of Assembly. | wish to use this medium to commend the House of Assembly for organizing this public hearing to enable the members of the public make their meaningful contributions, on this Draft Budget Estimates 2024.
I am glad that I have the privilege and opportunity to be among those that will ordinarily appraise the budget document of the state in order to improve on it and make useful suggestions to the State working paper for effective and optimal performance.
| wish to congratulate the Kogi State House of Assembly for yielding to pressure from the citizens of the state to organize this public hearing for the citizen’s participation in the budget processes of the state for the second time in the life of Kogi State House of Assembly.
| have therefore carefully studied the Draft Budget Estimate 2024 and humbly wish to make the following submissions today for posterity, in which if implemented accordingly will make the Appropriation bill to be more meaningful to our people in the state and as worthy of people’s oriented budget of reference in general.
Distinguished honourable members, our esteemed citizens and gentlemen of the press, before we collectively go into the nitty-gritty of the Draft Budget Estimate let us examine some key words of relevance such as follows;
BUDGETING is defined to mean the process of determining the financial resources necessary to meet the cost of given policy aims.
APPROPRIATION to mean the allocation of money by public officials for specific purposes or set apart. Control by the legislature over the raising of revenue and the expenditure of public funds as an essential requirement of democratic government.
ESTIMATE is equally defined to mean, to form a judgment or opinion regarding especially applied to value, size, weight, degree, extent, quantity, to rate by judgment, to compute or reckon.
LAW is a rule of action or conduct laid down or prescribed by authority; an edict or decree of a ruler or a government; a general command or order expressly laid down; such rules, edicts, decrees, collectively; the whole body of rule regulating and controlling the individuals of a state or community.
Distinguished honourable members, now on the Draft Budget Estimates 2024, Kogi State House of Assembly (Pages 26, 27 and 28 ) on capital expenditure there is zero release in exception of sub-head 130000010165 on page 28. The Capital Estimates suffers lack of releases as an arm of government with enormous responsibilities and powers, the only arm that make or mar other arms of government.
Head 2202070 (Page32) under the Ministry of Information tagged Consultancy Services/ Financial Consulting the actual expenditure put at 962, 521, 928.11. We have similar sub head on page 64 under the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Head 110000010130 Consultancy Expenses on Full Automation of Budget Process/ Bello Care Financial Solution with actual release expenditure of 360,945, 179.
On revenue head in the same Ministry of Finance, Head 11010309 on page 71 “Recovered Excess Bank Charges put at
1, 216, 360, 296 .85 what is the total of the Excess charges? Do those recovered excess charges attract interest over those money?
Still on the revenu head in the Ministry Head 11010104 Kogi State Mineral Fund ( 13%Derivation) the budget document shows zero revenue.
The Kogi State Local Government Service Commission on page 51 Head 22020512 1% Local Government Training Deduction for Training LG staff ) this head should not reflect under the State Estimate but in Local Government expenditure head.
The use of a the consultant in revenue drive is counter-productive in view of the submissions in head 12010102, ( PAYE), 12010303 withholding tax (LGAs), 12020102 Enhanced National Drivers License, 12020103 Learners permit, 12020114 Motor Vehicle Licenses, and12020403 New Number Plate rate among others Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS) (Page 72) these types of revenue income generated are such that can be generated without consultants, the revenues are generated by desk officers in the MDAs. Therefore if we minus these revenue heads from the total revenue generated by KGIRS there will be nothing to celebrate in their engagement.
This budget document do not reflect the deduction of the 10% mandatory commission to the KGIRS but in head 22070108 Special Grants to Board of Internal Revenue on Revenue Generation (outside 10% Mandatory commission) on page 76.
Therefore | wish to use this opportunity to call on the members of Kogi State House of Assembly to take a second look at the working documents between the Kogi State Government and the Consultant in charge of Kogi State Internal Revenue Services. Some of the issues they are to ascertain include; who should be responsible for the staff salary? On whose employment are they? Who should be responsible for their running cost and sundry expenses?
The KGIRS is the most serviced MDA in the state in 2023, | therefore call on the House of Assembly to call for the agreement papers with government to enable them study and if possible call for its amendment for posterity sake.
| generally observed that the principles and spirits of Federal Character were never held sacrosanct in the executions and siting of projects as | will point out no single release of fund to any road project in the following Local Government Areas, Yagba West, Yagba East, Mopamuro Ijumu and Kabba)Bunu.
Distinguished honorable members, once again, | thank you for this unique opportunity to partake in this legislative budget process of the Kogi State House of Assembly. Thank you and God bless you all.
Prince Friday Ogungbemi