By Janet Nyajon Audu
The Taraba State Commissioner of Budget and Planning, Solomon Elisha, has disclosed that the state’s N215.8 billion 2020 budget that was passed into law by the State House of Assembly Febuary this year would be reviewed downward.
This followed the economic challenge caused by the coronavirus.
The commissioner, who disclosed this in Jalingo, said that Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku has also ordered for downward review of the 2020 budgeted.
He further said that the proposed review would be forwarded to the House of assembly for scrutiny and appreciation.
According to him, the budget, projections were based on daily crude oil production output of 2.1 million barrels at 56.5 per barrel and the exchange rate of 305 to a dollar, maintaining that the economic situation due to the outbreak of coronavirus has made the 2020 budget extractions unrealistic and ineffective.
He added that the fall in price of crude oil and production output had resulted in the decline of monthly receipt from monthly federation account.
His words: ‘’The world economy has been experiencing recession as result of shutdown of means of production of virtually all commodities. Nigeria and indeed Taraba State have not been immuned from the decline in all activities as the economy has been on lockdown. For weeks now the 2020 budget had been based on daily crude oil output of 2.1 million barrels at 56.50 daily per barrel and at the exchange rate of 305 naira to the US dollars.’’
He further revealed that the current economic predicament following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the state budget expectation has been rendered unrealistic and ineffective. According to Elisha, from the aforementioned the state monthly receipt from the federation account is bound to decline in the long run, and at the same time it has also undermined the state internally generated revenue (IGR) effort, as a result of lockdown which has crippled all economic activities in the state hence the need for the downward review of the 2020 budget.
