No White Elephant Projects In Gombe 2022 Budget – Commissioner
- State govt boosts ongoing road projects with extra N771m
BY WILLIAM ATTAH, GOMBE – The Gombe State Government says its 2022 appropriation will only entertain what the people of the State have sat down to demand from the current administration.
Rising from the State Executive Council Meeting, the government reiterated its commitment to provide a people-oriented budget with no place for white elephant projects.
Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya had last week told a Town Hall meeting attended by representatives of communities in the State that the immediate past administration wasted public funds running into billions of Naira on projects with no bearing on the ordinary citizens living in the local areas.
The State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr Julius Ishaya Lapes, in aligning with the governor’s position, said the budget will reflect what the people want, adding; “It will be transparent, all-inclusive and guided by the administration’s principle of public spending while also avoiding white elephant projects”
Addressing journalists shortly after the State Executive Council (SEC) meeting, Lapes said the Council made observations and necessary corrections on the proposed budget that is set for presentation to the State House of Assembly on Thursday, November 11, 2021.
The Commissioner, who avoided mentioning the total budgetary allocation for the year, said the people of Gombe State are assured that the proposal will fully align with the inputs made by various stakeholders.
According to him; “The budget is going to be a reflection of what the people want. It will be transparent, all inclusive, avoiding white elephant projects, and will be guided by this administration’s principle of public spending.”
He also disclosed that SEC approved an additional N771,846,000 for ongoing road projects in Funakaye Local Government Area of the State, explaining that the amount was for the additional construction of a three-span bridge, instead of culverts on kwanar Gogaru-Almakashi-Jagabari to Kuka Bakwai road as the culverts could not stand the test of time.
The Government Spokesman said the extra amount has jerked up the entire road project cost to a little over N2.839 billion in the proposed 2022 budget.
The road construction is a joint project between Funakaye Local Government that bears 40 percent of the total cost with the State Government covering the remaining 60 percent.