The Bala Mohammed-led Bauchi State government has spent over N6 billion on renovating the government house within the first nine months of 2024, according to the state’s budget performance report. This report, obtained by Chronicles Reporters from the state government’s official website, indicates that the funds were allocated for “renovation, expansion, and furnishing of the Government House Bauchi.”
This recent expenditure follows the N16 billion spent on the same government house renovation in 2023, as revealed by Bauchi State’s 2023 audited financial report. The 2023 audit noted that the contract for upgrading the government house was initially awarded to M/S Architectronix Limited for N6.6 billion. However, a contract variation of N9.5 billion was later approved, bringing the total cost to N16.1 billion.
A contract variation occurs when the terms of an original agreement are modified with the consent of all parties involved. Despite this adjustment, the state’s 2023 budget performance report stated that N6 billion was budgeted and spent on the project, creating a discrepancy of N10 billion that was not accounted for in the official report.
The situation raises concerns about transparency, as the audit report also revealed that the state government failed to account for N23.1 million meant for the purchase of a project vehicle that was never delivered. This revelation contradicts the state’s fourth-quarter budget performance report for 2023, which showed a perfect 100% budget implementation for the project.
The financial details highlight the heavy investment in upgrading the government house. In 2023, Bauchi State generated N34.2 billion as internally generated revenue, out of which nearly 50% was spent on the government house project alone. This level of expenditure has sparked public debate over fiscal responsibility and the need for greater accountability in the management of state resources.
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