2023 budget will be citizen-centered – Zamfara Speaker maintains

By Chimezie Godfrey

Zamfara State House of Assembly has received the 2023 proposed appropriation bill presented by the State Executive Governor, Bello Muhammad Matawalle.

Receiving the proposed budget, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Nasiru Muázu Magarya described the presentation as timely, having it before the end of the 2022 fiscal year, thus providing enough time for the legislature to follow all the due process towards passing it into law.

Magarya appreciated the efforts of the present administration in promoting the lives of the citizenry through people-oriented policies and programs, employment opportunities, social intervention, infrastructural development, health, education, roads and construction of airport, among others, as contained and implemented in the previous budgets.

Magarya said, the House is determined to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the 2023 budget complement the achievements recorded under the leadership of Governor Bello Muhammad Matawalle.

He said the House will continue to monitor the implementation of the budget through an effective oversight, hence the need for all the MDAs in the state to ensure budgetary compliance in all their spending.

“Tasking the MDAs to defend their proposals, stock-taking and human needs assessment through engagements with constituents and other relevant authorities would be our guiding principles so as to ensure a citizen-centered and more realistic budget.” Magarya added.

While affirming the house readiness to deliberate and observe all the due process to hasten the passage of the budget for immediate and efficient implementation, he said, the doors of the legislature will remain open for input and advice from recognized CSOs, individuals and groups.

Recognizing the efforts of the state government and security agencies in addressing the lingering security challenges, the Speaker appealed to key stakeholders and the general public to continue praying for divine intervention and support the government in addressing the menace.

On the fundamental functions of the law makers, Magarya said the house was able to record the much-needed achievements in the area of lawmaking, representation and oversight, adding that, within the period under review, the House was able to pass over thirty bills into Law.

While requesting the attention of the State Government to execute developmental projects that have a direct bearing to the society, the Speaker thanks his colleagues for their support and cooperation to the leadership of the House which without it the achievements recorded could not have been realized. “I really count on your support and cooperation to justify our mandates, he maintained.

He further condoled Governor Matawalle and the good people of the State, especially the families of those who lost their lives and properties, the injured and all others affected by the security distress.

While directing the Clerk of the house, Alhaji Shehu Sa’idu Anka to read the bill for the second time after formal presentation, Magarya announced that, the budget is referred to the committee on Finance for further legislative process and is given thirty days to bring back their report before the house.

Earlier speaking while presenting the proposed budget, Governor Matawalle said this year’s budget was anchored on multiple grant resources to make it fiscally coherent and consistent with medium and long-term strategic plan designed to enable his administration mobilize resources to contain the ravaging insecurity and other emerging issues militating against the wellbeing of the society.

He presented the sum of N188,872,227,000 as the state budget with the sum of N102,564,207,000 and N86,308,020,000 representing recurrent and capital estimates respectively for the year 2023. He called on the house to deliberate and pass it into law for implementation.

The Governor was guided by the Clerk of the house, Alhaji Shehu Sa’idu Anka and assisted by the Commissioner, Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Aliyu Tukur while laying the document before the Mace.