By Princess Simon Bureau Chief North Central, in Minna)
Journalists have been challenged to support the government by monitoring to ensure full implementation of, N238, 924, 457, 782.47 2023 Appropriation Bill, tagged, ‘Budget of Consolidation and Transition’ estimate, presented to the State Assembly by Governor Abubarkar Sani Bello when it is approved.
Commissioner/Deputy Chairman Niger State Planning Commission Mallam Zakari Abubarkar made the plea while briefing journalists/budget breakdown which took place at government over the weekend.
Zakari who was responding to question on why the 2022 budget was poorly implemented and its implications on the N238.9 appropriation bill waiting to be assented to by the legislature expressed optimisms that with journalists playing their role as fourth in the estate of realm the budget will be fully implemented.
The state government as part of strategies to ensure that government and governance to the grassroots level and for the three senatorial zones, in six locations; Lambata and Bosso, New-Bussa and Wushishi and Mokwa and Edati, dialogued with citizens ahead of the 2023 appropriation, Zakari further explained.
But the journalists in seeking clarifications argued that more is being heard about government claims of executing citizen’s friendly projects than the reality on ground as most of the projects claimed to have been executed by the government were non-existing.
Among the sectors that suffered most under the Governor Abubarkar Sani Bello led administration is Sports and Youths Development. Except for football, every other sporting activity has been more of at a standstill in the past seven years causing the state to drop drastically in national sports ranking table.
The only legacy the incumbent administration is the on-going multi-million Naira ‘Sports Village’, situated at the Bahago round-about, but is still at less than 50 percent completion after suffering series of abandonment due to non-payment of contractors handling the project.
The journalists had argued that, while athletes in their numbers desert the state for greener pastures due to non-payment of mere N20, 000 monthly allowance, the poor outing of the state team in the last National Sports Festival (NSF) should have served as a reminder for it to sit up and work towards changing the narratives in the coming sports festival.
In the countdown to the 2022 NSF tagged, ‘Asaba 2022’, the journalists down-rated the Governor Bello led administration in the implementations of youth-friendly programmes beyond media reports which did not necessarily translate into practical realities on ground.
Other areas the Bello led administration is expected to intensify efforts at tackling, according to the journalists is the payment of entitlements and retirement benefits of state and Local Government Area retirees.
Though the state government recently released N1 billion after series of protests by the pensioners, journalists argued that the sum is far below the level of indebtedness running into several billions of Naira for the pensioners, aside other borrowings from Banks including that of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). NNL.
