Kwara State Government will on Friday begin budget review sessions involving heads of various ministries, a step designed to urgently rework the N162bn (2020) budget to align with the current global economic realities.
The budget had, among other fundamentals, been predicated on $57 per barrel of oil but Nigeria’s Brent Crude now trades at around $20 as at Wednesday afternoon, owing in part to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The state Commissioner for Finance and Planning Mrs Oyeyemi Olasumbo Florence said in a statement on Wednesday, 22 April, 2020, that the review sessions hold at her ministry and would be staggered to avoid overcrowding in line with the COVID-19 safety protocols.
She said each session would feature the commissioner, permanent secretary, director of personnel finance and supply (DPFS), director planning and research and statistics (DPRS), and controller finance and account (CFA) of the affected ministry or agency who are to attend sessions with relevant documents.
The statement said the MDAs are to check the scheduled timetable already forwarded to them to confirm the date and time of their appearance.
The review sessions will hold daily (including during weekend days) from Friday April 24 to Wednesday April 29.
