Oluseyi Dasilva
Kwara State Government will commence a budget review move on Friday as precautionary steps towards the imminent fall in oil prices occasioned by the COVID 19 pandemic and to urgently rework the N162bn (2020) budget in alliance with the current global economic realities.
The review sessions which will involve all heads of various ministries, had, among other fundamentals, been predicated on $57 per barrel of oil but Nigeria’s Brent Crude now trades at around $20 as at Wednesday afternoon, owing in part to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Commissioner for Finance and Planning Mrs Oyeyemi Olasumbo Florence disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday that the review sessions hold at her ministry and would be staggered to avoid overcrowding in line with the COVID-19 safety protocols.
She explained that each of the sessions would feature the commissioner, permanent secretary, director of personnel finance and supply (DPFS), director planning and research and statistics (DPRS), and controller finance and account (CFA) of the affected ministry or agency who are to attend sessions with relevant documents.
The statement added that the MDAs are to check the scheduled timetable already forwarded to them to confirm the date and time of their appearance.
Kwara State Governor had earlier at a different for a hinted that the state expects a shortfall in federal allocation projecting that it may receive as low as N1.5bn effective from May, down from an average of N3bn in the previous months, as the NNPC might be unable to contribute anything to the national purse.
“The world is in a dire strait. There are no resources. We need to balance expectations with available resources. We are reviewing the budget. We will have to cut down on some capital projects but we do want to prioritise social investments. We have to build a new economy based on our new realities. We will need your feedback,” he said.
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