By Aloysius Umalo, Makurdi
The Benue State House of Assembly has passed a supplementary budget totaling N170,894,473,135 for the year 2024. This approval was granted during a plenary session where the budget was scrutinized clause by clause.
With the passage of the supplementary budget, the total budget for 2024 has now increased to N396,621,868,343 from the initial approved budget of N225,727,395,206.97.
A breakdown indicates that the recurrent expenditure has seen an increase of N10,586,740,000, bringing the total recurrent expenditure to N155,647,410,359, while the capital expenditure remains at N240,974,457,983.
The House also emphasized the need for the Benue State Budget and Planning Commission to consult with Public Sector Entities (PSEs) before revising any budgets to ensure their inputs are considered.
The lawmakers also urged the Ministry of Finance to promptly release budgetary approvals to MDAs to enhance their operational efficiency.
The Benue State House of Assembly's approval of the supplementary budget and directives regarding teacher recruitment reflect a commitment to fiscal responsibility and equitable resource allocation within the state.
In a related development, the Assembly has directed the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to conduct the planned aptitude test for the recruitment of primary school teachers in a decentralized manner to alleviate economic burdens on applicants.
During the session, various members shared their views on the recruitment process, including the suggestion to conduct tests online to align with digital trends.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Aondona Dajoh, emphasized the importance of fair distribution of teachers based on the number of schools in each local government area of the state.
It would be recalled that the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board, (SUBEB) recently released a timetable for Computer-Based Test (CBT) for recruitment of candidates who applied for teaching positions from the 23 Local Government Areas of the State into the primary schools, scheduled to hold between 23rd September and 28th October 2024.
