The Plateau State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning has commenced bilateral review sessions for the 2027 budget cycle, with a focus on fixing accounting discrepancies and ensuring realistic fiscal allocations.*
The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mr. Adams Bulus Lekshak, flagged off the engagement on Monday.
He said the review will assess past financial performances of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, and align projections with the state’s actual revenue capacity.
The interactive session began with the Office of the Governor and will be followed by the Boundary Commission, the Office of the Deputy Governor, and other key MDAs.
Lekshak outlined the stages of the budget aggregation process, noting that it builds on public consultations and citizen engagement before formal MDA budget defenses.
He stressed that the state must prioritize revenue-backed budgeting rather than expanding figures without corresponding collection capacity.
Discussions revealed significant variances in departmental spending. Overhead costs rose by ₦950 million, while out of a ₦240 million provision for local travel, transport and training, only ₦19 million was expended.
Officials also cited emergency projects such as water reticulation and pipe installation at the Presidential Lodge, which required funds to be shifted from standard maintenance lines.
To address shortfalls, the Ministry directed MDAs to reconcile internal spending records with the revised budget passed by the House of Assembly to ensure reporting accuracy.
The review also highlighted technical errors in administrative reporting, including whether line items like “Directorate Secretariat” should stand as independent heads or be consolidated under broader operational categories.
To improve transparency, the Ministry instructed all MDAs to properly log fund movements across sub-heads and to immediately migrate all records of local travel, transport and training expenses into the centralised reporting system.
The measure, the Commissioner said, will enable accurate evaluation of actual expenditures and guide future allocation decisions.
