Governor Bala Mohammed’s administration in Bauchi State has allocated over N6 billion for the renovation, expansion, and furnishing of the Government House in 2024, as revealed in the state’s budget performance report.
This comes after the government spent a staggering N16 billion on similar renovations in 2023, raising concerns about transparency and accountability.
The 2024 budget performance report, posted on the Bauchi State government’s website, showed that N6,042,188,850.35 was spent within nine months on the project. However, an earlier review of the 2023 audited report by SaharaReporters indicated that the governor’s administration awarded a contract for upgrading the Government House at an initial cost of N6.6 billion to M/S Architectronix Limited.
The audit also revealed a contract variation of N9.5 billion, bringing the total expenditure for 2023 to N16.1 billion. This figure conflicts with the state’s 2023 fourth-quarter budget performance report, which claimed that only N6 billion was spent, representing 100% of the approved budget. The discrepancy of N10 billion remains unaccounted for in the official documents.
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Additionally, the audit report noted that the state failed to account for N23.1 million earmarked for the purchase of a project vehicle that was never procured.
The substantial spending on the Government House contrasts sharply with Bauchi State’s internally generated revenue (IGR) for 2023, which stood at N34.2 billion. The N16 billion spent on renovations represents nearly 50% of the state’s IGR for that fiscal year.
These revelations have sparked calls for greater accountability and transparency in managing public funds, as critics question the prioritization of such extensive spending on government facilities over other pressing developmental needs.
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