Benue State House of Assembly has granted Governor Hyacinth Alia a N170.8 billion supplementary budget.
The Speaker of the House, Hyacinth Aondona Dajoh chaired a plenary session on Wednesday during which the consent was granted.
After the supplementary appropriations bill was approved, Benue’s total budget for 2024 became N396, 621, 868, 343.
The report from the Committee on Finance and Appropriation on the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, which was given to the assembly during its plenary session, was reviewed before the budget was approved.
The committee chairman, Cephas Dyako, presented the report and informed members of the house that the 2024 approved revenue of N225,727,395,206.97 has been enhanced by N170, 894, 473, 135.09, bringing the 2024 revised projections to N396,621,868,343.
The House approved it into law after closely examining and observing the 2024 supplemental estimates for capital and recurring spending.
In order to improve efficiency and provide easy access to the sites, the House also orders Dr. Grace Adagba, the chairperson of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), to decentralize the recruitment examination to each of the state’s 23 local government areas, effective immediately.
Minority Leader Michael Audu moved a motion asking the SUBEB chairman to decentralize the recruitment examination process. He told the house that many applicants will find it difficult to travel to Makurdi for the test because of the hardship caused by the increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS.
He stated that such a move by the SUBEB chairman will leave many candidates despairing because they lack the funds to go to Makurdi for the exercise.
The proposal was seconded by Bemdoo Ipusu, who represents the Katsina-Ala West state constituency. Berger Emberga, a member of the Makurdi North state constituency, lamented the state’s high unemployment rate and asked the house to avoid centralising the process.
Berger pointed out that the SUBEB chairman’s decision will reject many candidates who cannot afford to go to Makurdi, the state capital, for the computer-based test.
The House agreed that the SUBEB chairman should promptly decentralize the recruitment test process and guarantee that every eligible indigene of the state is given equal attention.
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cc: Daily Post Ng
