State House insists on completion of on-going projects in 2018 budget

The Permanent Secretary, State House, Jalal Arabi, on Friday in Abuja said the 2018 budget proposals of the State House will focus on completing all on-going projects.

Appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Special Duties to defend the 2018 budget proposals and the utilization of the 2017 budget releases, Arabi said several ongoing projects have been stalled or delayed due to funding constraints.

The Permanent Secretary said the budget proposals were anchored to deliver on Nigeria’s Economic Growth and Recovery Plan (EGRP) 2018-2020, adding that the budget ‘‘will maximize scarce resources in a manner that we function optimally and ensure that security of the State House is not compromised.”

He informed the Committee that the State House administration caters for the offices of the President, Vice President, Chief of Staff, Chief Security Officer to the President, the State House Medical Centre and the State House Liaison office in Lagos.

It was revealed that the State House budget proposal for 2018 is N15,479,178,778 for capital and recurrent expenditure.

The Chairman, House Committee on Special Duties, Hon. Nasir Sani Zangon-Daura, described the State House as the nerve-centre of the nation, adding that there is need to be fair in the allocation of resources so that it can effectively service the strategic offices located therein.

He assured that the committee will be open-minded in its recommendations without compromising quality.