MOVING AT A DETERMINED PACE
Text of the Address by His Excellency, Alhaji (Dr.) Abdullahi Adamu (Sarkin Yakin Keffi), at the Occasion of the Presentation of the 2005 Appropriation Bill to the State House of Assembly on Friday, 29TH October, 2004
The Rt. Hon. Speaker, Nasarawa State House of Assembly;
Principal Officers and Honourable Members;
It is with a sense of utmost honour, total commitment and identification with the hopes and dreams of the people of Nasarawa State that I address you on this very important occasion. We are, indeed, grateful to God for His mercy and bounty in the outgoing fiscal year, and for giving us yet another opportunity to present for your scrutiny Government’s plans to add more value to the living conditions of the citizenry in the 2005 financial year.
In fulfilling this solemn constitutional duty, therefore, we lay before this honourable House today the State’s Appropriation Bill for the year 2005, which we have deliberately tagged Budget of Accelerated Development. No doubt, after five years of the rebirth of democracy and our stewardship of the State, Government has taken cognisance of the increasing need for a simultaneous and rapid development strategy, which places our rural areas shoulder-to-neck with the urban centres in terms of infrastructural distribution and standard.
Of course, while seeking to radically modernise our rural communities, this comprehensive approach to development will not lose sight of the growing challenges posed by the peculiar problems of globalisation in our urban areas. Let me hasten to explain here that the objective of our development approach is multi-faceted: to positively and reasonably transform the physical landscape of the rural areas; to practically address the issue of poverty and, thus, eliminate rural-urban drift; to drastically cut down urban crime by reducing unemployment; and, through empowerment, to mobilise an energetic human resource for efficiency and higher economic productivity. It is worthy of note that these indices have remained fundamental to our quest for rapid development over the years, even as a nation.
Mr. Speaker sir, Honourable members, in 2004 the State Government’s recurrent and capital expenditures profile as captured in the budget was N20.510 Billion. That budget was carefully designed to address the following:
- The need to sustain the momentum of the Administration’s development thrusts;
- The quest to realign and strengthen the structure of Government towards enhanced efficiency in policy formulation and programme implementation;
- Building a more disciplined, virile and productive civil service; and
- Enhancing the health status and overall well-being of the citizenry.
It is pertinent to state that we made significant gains in the implementation of the 2004 budget, as is evident in various sectors. In our strive to ensure qualitative healthcare delivery, the State Government, through bilateral partnership and in line with the spirit of south-south cooperation, engage the services of ten (10) expatriate medical consultants from Korea and Cyprus, who have been deployed to various hospitals in the State. Similarly, technical experts from China and Korea are currently assisting in our agricultural and water supply improvement projects.
During the year, Government took a hard look at our internal revenue-generation system and found it necessary to set up an appropriate machinery to examine its immediate and remote ailments. I am delighted to inform the Honourable House that, with the indicators flashed by the Committee vested with that task, the State’s internally generated revenue status is certain to substantially appreciate. What this translates to is the widening of the scope of our development activities. We are further encouraged by the performance of the 2004 budget, considering the anticipation we have on the poverty reduction initiative embarked upon by Government. You would recall that the State Government recently disbursed N53million to youths in the State to enable them venture into diverse investment areas. It is our expectation that in the next three months beneficiaries of the scheme will begin to rake in dividends from their investments, thus impacting positively on the average per capita and gross economy of the State.
Mr. Speaker, sir, Honourable Members, considering the zeal of this Administration on matters of development vis-à-vis the resources at our disposal, Government intends to spend N … Billion in 2005. Out of this estimate, N … Billion is earmarked for recurrent expenditures, while N … Billion is proposed for capital expenditures. In 2005 we anticipate an appreciation in both the Federal Allocation to the State and our internally generated revenue.
The Hon. Speaker, sir, Honourable members, in the 2005 fiscal year, Government’s emphasis will be on accelerated development in Education, healthcare delivery, rural Development, Agricultural production (including irrigation projects), consolidation of our Economic Empowerment Initiative, completion of on-going project as the fulcrum of the State’s Industrialisation dream and stimulation of private investment partnership in the Housing sector. Above all, this Administration will continue to maintain a high stake in peace-building and the facilitation of harmonious co-existence among the divergent communities in the State.
There is no gainsaying the fact that our traditional institutions will continue to play crucial roles in the building of communal peace, and the maintenance of law and order. Government is therefore resolved to support traditional rulers as they discharge their duties. In that regard, Government intends to continue to purchase official vehicles for the use of our traditional rulers, while also committing enough funds to the construction and renovation of palaces of traditional rulers throughout the State.
As part of our policy on the development of Karu area, the Greater Karu Planning and Development Authority will be strengthened to intensify effort at cooperative development in partnership with the Federal Capital Authorities and similar interests.
The 2005 budget hopes to conveniently accommodate the State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (SEEDS) in tune with the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) and NEPAD objectives. In this vein, even as individual economic empowerment will be a focal area for Government, cooperativisation at various levels will be vigorously encouraged through the relevant agencies.
In specific terms, the Nasarawa State Government plans to improve tremendously on infrastructures in the Education sector, particularly the equipping of the State University, and the provision of classrooms in all the tertiary institutions. Government will also standardise the laboratories in all our Science Secondary Schools, while also constructing new structures in the newly established secondary schools throughout the State. Government in its effort to ensure quality education at the foundation level, hopes to open up functional libraries in selected model primary schools in each Local Government and the 16 Development Areas. This we hope is to inculcate the reading culture among pupils in consonance with the objectives of the Universal Basic Education programme.
Mr. Speaker, sir, Honourable Members, in view of the appreciable ground covered in healthcare delivery in the past five years, Government is spurred to pay greater attention to both the primary and tertiary health sub-sectors next year. Last year we earmarked General Hospitals for those Local Government headquarters which had no such amenities. We therefore intend to build and fully equip the hospitals in the affected Local Government and Development Areas within the capacity of the 2005 budget.
With our Poverty Reduction Scheme already in implementation, Government is determined to further create the enabling operative environment for investments in trade and commerce. In this regard, the Lafia modern market project will be executed to boost activities in that segment of the economy.
On this note, Mr. Speaker, Honourable members, it is pertinent to passionately appeal that time waits for no one, as is often expressed in Nigerian parlance. This understanding informed our early preparation and presentation of the Bill which is before you today. I therefore believe that the driving spirit of service to the people will continue to be given priority in your numerous schedules so that, as a team, we can deliver the goods to their destination right on time.
Permit me to remark on the exemplary symbiosis that exists between the Honourable House and the Executive in this State, which is why Nasarawa State continues to be a reference point for democracy and good governance for the overall interest of the people. We have no iota of doubt in our minds that, as patriots our actions and considerations at any given time are focused at making Nasarawa State and its people much better than when we met them. This much we owe future generations and ourselves. I count on your characteristic understanding in the passage of this Bill.
Thank you and may God continue to bless our efforts.
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