Any Memo Which Doesn’t Capture In 2025 Budget, Will Not Be Given Approval, Zulum Warns MDAs

Any memo which doesn’t capture in 2025 budget, will not be given approval, Zulum warns MDAs

By Madu Mohammed, Maiduguri

The Borno state Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum has warned all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that any memo or projects which has not captured in 2025 budgets will not be given approval.

On Wednesday 16/10/24 the Ministry of budget organized a Town Hall meeting to collect, discuss and deliberate on inputs into 2025 budget to effectively address the needs and aspirations of its citizenry.

Speaking at a Town Hall meeting organized by the state Ministry for Budget and Planing on the preparation of 2025 budget which held at the Elkanemi Hall of the Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri on Wednesday Governor Babagana Zulum said ” any projects or memo which have not been captured in the 2025 budget will not be given approval, this have been part of the government policy of transparency and accountability.”.

Represented by his Deputy, Alhaji Umar Kadafur said “this meeting is inline with the international best practices and to afford stakeholders the opportunity to cross fertilize ideas and come up with transparent and accountable budgets that would meet the needs of the people”.

The Governor assured that all inputs made by the stakeholders will be in cooperated into the 2025 budgets and implemented within the scarce resources of the government inline with 10 point agenda and 25 year Development plan and urged participants to feel free and participate actively.

Also, the Borno state Commissioner for Budget and Planing, Alhaji Babagana Mallambe said the aim of the Town Hall meeting is to have engagement with relevant stakeholders to discuss deliberate and come up with 2025 budgets that will meet the needs and aspirations of the masses.

“This meeting is one of the transparency and accountability policy of the government to involve citizens in the budget, preparations, implentation and feedback. I therefore, call on the Ministries, Department and Agencies Civil Organisations, clubs associations to contribute, so as to have people oriented budget”, he added.

In his submissiion, the representative of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), while commending Governor Zulum for releasing N3 billion to settle pension and gratituity of the retire civil servants, called on the government to extend same to the workers of the local government areas.

He said ” I also appealed to the Governor to fill in the existing vacancies in the civil service by employing more people into the service, as well as construct more housing estate and allocate to the civil servants to address housing deficits in the state.”

In his remarks, the Borno state Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Dauda Iliya urged the government to organize quarterly media briefing to aquent citizen on the level of budget implementation and to track government expenditures.

While marking his contribution, the representative of the Person’s Living with Disability, Mr. Ayuba Alamson appealed to the government to employ people with disability into the civil service and also make physically challenges friendly policies, while constructing public buildings and Institutions, as well as make law that will protect PLWD.

In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Budget and Planing, Dr Philip Shallangwa urged the participants to listen, discuss, deliberate and come up with fiscal documments that will meet their aspirations.