Buhari mulls fresh N10b budget support package for states

President Muhammadu Buhari is considering a fresh N10 billion budget support package for the 36 states of the federation.

The Katsina State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Mukhtar Abdulkadir disclosed this while making a presentation on behalf of the state government at a meeting with the state indigenes in Abuja.

Mukhtar said the gesture, which was endorsed last week by members of the Federal Executive Council’s meeting is currently awaiting the approval of the president.

On the occasion, Governor Aminu Bello Masari and members of the state executive council rendered the account of their stewardship to the citizenry since June 2015.

He stressed that the state government had judiciously utilised the 2016 budget support from the Federal Government.

He explained that the bailout funds and the Paris Club loan refund were utilised for the payment of workers’ pensions and gratuities and other developmental programmes.

Abdulkadir said the state accessed N11 billion of the intervention fund in 2015, adding that the Masari-led administration paid out N4.3 billion as gratuities to the retirees.

He said local councils retirees in the state got N3.6 billion from the fund as at September last year.

The commissioner further explained that the state government expended N1.4 billion to continue the payment of its retirees up till June 2016, as well as an additional payment of N1.7 billion to local council retirees up to March 2016.