The
engagement held on Wednesday at the Local Government Secretariat Gwantu, was intended to receive inputs on the budget from different communities of the area, especially on their various priority demands.
Addressing the gathering, the Chairman of the Council, Mr Bisalla Mallam said the essence of the engagement was to receive contributions from citizens regarding their demands to enable the council have a citizens - based budget.
Represented by the Deputy Director Finance and Supply of the Local Government, Aminu Mukadi, Mr Mallam said the decision was to enable the citizens participate fully in the budget process as against what was obtainable in the past.
The Chairman who also said the meeting was to harmonize the demands of all communities, expressed the hope that they will contribute meaningfully to the budget proposals to give the council a sense of direction.
Earlier, the Deputy Director Budget, Bello Hassan said the Council deemed it appropriate to meet with the citizens on the budget proposals so as not to misplace their priority needs.
Bello explained that the essence of any meaningful budget is to address the demands of communities based on their priority, hence the importance of the engagement.
Also speaking, the district head of Gwantu, Alhaji Bashir Mohammed said the people must live in peace with each other first, to pave way for the implementation of the budget.
On his part, the district head of Fadan Ninzo, Mr Ibrahim Anzah appreciated the engagement, describing it as a well thought out idea.
He however, said those concerned with capturing the budget proposals should liaise with traditional ruler for meaningful contributions.