Law Books Or Lost Priorities: Plateau State Government Budgets Over 200 Million Naira For The Acquisition Of Law Books

Bulmun Dakwal

When the Plateau state Government rolled out its budget for the year 2024, one project in the budget line quietly drew attention not because it was new or unique, but because of the high monetary allocation for the project which is titled “Acquisition of law books”.

In the 2023 budget, the same project was allocated the sum of four million Naira. The budget performance showed that a total sum of one million, eight hundred and eighty three thousand, seven hundred and eighty Naira was spent on the project.

However, this allocation was not the only one on the budget. In another section of the same 2023 budget, the acquisition of law books appeared again but with a different allocation of ten million Naira with a performance budget of seven million, eight hundred thousand Naira.

Despite these multiple allocations and performance in 2023, the project still resurfaces in the 2024 budget with a more robust allocation. In Plateau State 2024 budget, the same project was allocated the total sum of two hundred million Naira.

By the end of the year 2024, the performance record for the project showed that the sum of one hundred and eighty seven million, three hundred and seventy eight thousand, two hundred and forty Naira, and sixty kobo had already been spent on the same project.

More interestingly, after two years of reoccurring in the state budget, the “Acquisition of law books” project continues to progress.

In the Plateau State 2025 approved budget, the government allocated two hundred and fifty million Naira for the acquisition of law books alone, this shows an additional whooping sum of fifty million naira against the previous year’s budgets.

This goes on to show that between the year 2023 to 2025, the state has spent and also budgeted millions of Naira on the acquisition of law books alone, not just through on yearly budget but across three years.

Despite the fact that these law books are essential to the law system and the court needs to be up to date with legal books. However, the splurge of such millions speaks volumes about the choices and priorities of the state’s government especially for a state that barely has significant infrastructures and communities still struggling to access clean and safe water to drink.

Across local government areas like Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, and Quanpa’an, many rural communities still depend and use unsafe water sources years after borehole projects were announced or after a substandard borehole goes bad within a short time after construction. In some parts of Bokkos, residents are still hoping and wishing to have a good road construction for easy commuting after several failed promises on road rehabilitation and construction, projects that have never gone beyond the paper, leaving most villagers stranded and frustrated during the rainy season and also the high risk of accidents due to the slimy roads.

In Mangu local government area, several primary health care centers operate with limited equipment and inconsistent drug supply. Health workers in some rural health centers say simple interventions like water supply, solar power and standard medical equipment could drastically improve service delivery.

In Riyom local government area, community leaders continue to call attention to the poor road networks and abandoned water projects that force residents to travel long distances for basic needs.

While these projects struggle for attention and funding and others remain uncompleted, allocations for law books continue to grow from four million Naira, to ten million Naira, to two million Naira and now to two hundred and fifty million Naira.

While these draws all eyes to the government and raises questions that most often guts pushed under the bus, citizens are left to rely on budget documents that show huge figures on paper but little to no result in reality.

For residents waiting for functional boreholes in Quanpa’an, good roads in Jos south or a properly equipped clinic in Kanam, these budget figures are not just numbers that have been ignored or diverted. They represent lost hope and  lost opportunities, while for many residents in these rural communities, the issue is no longer about the importance of law books but whether they should cost more than water, roads and healthcare.