Kwara State House of Assembly yesterday approved N128.1 billion as expenditure and revenue estimate for the state.

The estimate is an increase of N12 billion from that presented by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed. The governor, last December, presented N116.1 billion as the 2016 budget estimate to the Assembly.

Speaker Ali Ahmad hailed the vision and tenacity of Governor Ahmed "in ensuring that Kwara remains afloat despite the financial turbulence that has been our lot for some time now." Said he: "We have learnt our lessons from low budget performance for previous years, following our reliance on federal allocations. In 2015, for instance, federal allocation accounted for about 80 per cent of our recurrent revenue. This year, it is a meagre 20 per cent.

"If our resolve to achieve a minimum of 70 per cent budget performance for 2016 is met, this will translate into injecting N89.67 billion into the state's economy, compared to the performance of 2015 budget figure of N46.76 billion."

Authorities of the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, have decried attempts by a group of lecturers to disrupt academic activities. The university last year suspended six lecturers for alleged illegal unionism. But the lecturers, recognised by the national body of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU), were later pardoned, following the intervention of Governor Ahmed.

A statement from the Office of the Director, University Relations, said: "Despite warnings by the management against unlawful assembly, a group of academic workers on February 24 invited lecturers from other universities to disrupt academic activities."

The statement, signed by the Assistant Information/Protocol Officer, Yusuf Suleiman, reads: "The group of academic workers blocked the university gate for about two hours, thereby preventing law-abiding students, lecturers and others who had legitimate business from entrying the campus.