Governor Buni Spends N1.85billion On Welfare, Sitting Allowances, N110million As ‘Bank Charges’

The Yobe State government led by Governor Mai Mala Buni has said it spent N1,351,792,866 on honorarium and sitting allowance while N505,384,301.59 was used for welfare packages between January and June 2023.

Also, the government recorded N110,760,524.90 as spent on “bank charges” during the same period.

 

These are contained in the Yobe State 2nd Quarter 2023 budget performance report on the state website where the statements of income and expenditure for the period between January and June 2023 were displayed.

According to the report, N85.4 million was spent in the second quarter (April – June) on bank charges while N110.76million was totally spent from January till June.

The Yobe State government also said it spent over N1.8 billion on allowances and welfare packages for its officials.

In the breakdown, N1,351,792,866.00 was spent on honorarium and sitting allowance while N505,384,301.59 was used for welfare packages.

Also in the document, the government claimed another N40.1 million was used for publicity and advertisements.

Terrorism have impacted on communities in Yobe State in various ways, with thousands of innocent lives lost and property worth millions of naira destroyed, including places of worship.

SaharaReporters on Monday reported that Boko Haram insurgents attacked the convoy of Governor Buni along Maiduguri-Damaturu Road, killing two policemen and injuring two others.

The attack took place last Saturday after the governor attended the 24th convocation of the University of Maiduguri, Borno State.

The terrorists had opened fire on the convoy from both sides of the highway, targeting the pilot.

“We narrowly escaped death today. The convoy was attacked between Beneshiekh and Mainok, a distance of less than sixty kilometres to Damaturu after attending the 24th convocation of the University of Maiduguri.

“The insurgents opened fire on the convoy from both sides of the road, killing one policeman instantly while the other died later due to too much bleeding following bullet wounds. As a matter of fact, we left Maiduguri late, around 6.00 pm,” a witness had said.

Governor Buni was absent in the convoy when the incident happened on their way back to Damaturu the state capital. He was said to have travelled to Abuja for an official function.

The humanitarian crisis created by the terrorism has led to thousands of internally displaced persons, whose means of livelihood were also disrupted by activities of insurgents.

Over 1.8 million people are currently displaced in three North-East states.