The Ogun State Government has presented a draft budget of N345.42 billion to the state Assembly for passage appropriation bill for 2018 fiscal year. The State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun presented the State’s budget proposal on the floor of the State House of Assembly. Christened ‘’Budget of Accelerated Development’’, Amosun said that the proposed appropriation bill which was 57 per cent higher than the current year’s budget was a reflection of his administration’s determination to deliver on its electoral promises, assuring that all on-going projects would be completed before the expiration of his tenure.
Giving a breakdown of the budget proposal, the Governor said that recurrent expenditure would gulp N121.698bn which represents 35.2 per cent while N223.721bn or 64.77 per cent would be expended on capital projects. According to him, a sum of N68.369billion representing 19.79% of the total recurrent expenditure would be for salaries and allowances, N13.50billion or 3.90% would be spent on pension and gratuities, while overhead cost would gulp N39.829 billion representing 11.53per cent.
On source of financing, Amosun said that the proposed budget would be funded through N149.258 billion or 43.21 per cent expected to be generated internally, N48 billion representing 13.9 per cent from the Federation account, N98.160 billion which is 28.42 per cent expected from capital receipts, while the balance of N50 billion or 14.48 per cent is to be made from other receipts.
The Governor further explained that in continuation of his administration’s commitment to providing affordable qualitative education and moving closer to UNESCO’s recommended 26 per cent, the education sector got the lion share of N79.246b representing 22.9 per cent, the health sector got N21.199b representing 6.13 per cent, just as efforts on agricultural production/industrialisation was allocated N21.137b which is 6.12 per cent of the total budget.
On the other hand, Amosun said that a sum of N45.733 billion representing 13.24 per cent would be spent on affordable housing and urban renewal, rural and infrastructural development/employment generation was allocated N73.606 billion representing 21.31 per cent, while N125.933 billion or 30.25 per cent was set aside for other sectors. Justifying the huge capital expenditure of the proposed budget, the State helmsman pointed out that this is being done to enable his administration accelerate all its developmental plans by continuously developing all infrastructure that would support industrialisation through agricultural development.
‘’We have placed great emphasis on capital projects in order to accelerate the development of our dear State, we must continue to develop infrastructure that supports industry, improve road connectivity within our agricultural areas as well as between our agricultural belts and urban markets” he said.
On the 2017 budget performance, the Governor disclosed that his government had implemented the budget to a tune of over 70 per cent, adding that it had developed the state in the areas of security, infrastructure and ease of doing business amongst others. Earlier in his welcome address, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Suraj Ishola Adekunbi said the Assembly in the outgoing year has been able to pass 9 bills. The Speaker, while thanking the Governor for his unprecedented moral and financial support to the legislature, clamoured for the continuation of a cordial relationship that had always existed between the three arms of government.
In attendance at the budget presentation were dignitaries from all walks of life including the Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Yetunde Onanuga, Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Tolu Odebiyi, Head of interim government, Chief Ernest Sonekan, former Governors, former Speakers, present and retired Heads of Service, elder statesmen, royal fathers and members of the State Executive Council among others.
