The Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun on Tuesday presented a sum of N221.129 billion to the State House of Assembly as the budget proposal for the year 2017.
Amosun while presenting the the budget tagged, “Budget of Repositioning” said that it had a 10.45 percent increase over the previous 2016 budget estimated at N200.2billion.
The Education Sector attracts a giant share of N47.05 which represents 21.28 percent of the total budget
The governor who presented the budget to the 26-member Assembly, noted that the Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) of 114.34 billion, representing 51.71 percent would be used to finance the budget .
According to Amosun, the budget would be allocated among the five cardinal programmes of his administration as the largest share of N47,054,500, 000, representing 21.28 percent would be given to Affordable Qualitative Education.
Other areas of the proposed budget included , Efficient Healthcare Delivery, N15.105billion, representing 6.83percent; Agricultural Production and Industrialisation, N11.610billion representing 5.25percent ; Affordable Housing and Urban Renewal, N28.574billion, representing 12.92 percent and Rural and Infrastructural Development/Employment Generation, N44.201billion, representing 19.99percent.
The Capital Expenditure were N118.306billion (53.50percent) while Recurrent Expenditure was N102.823billion (46.50percent). Personnel Cost, made up of Salaries and Allowances stood at N62.73 billion while Pension and Gratuities accounted for N11.2Billion, about 5.06percent of Total Expenditure. The balance of N28.89 Billion which accounted for 13.07percent was set aside for the Overhead Costs.
The Governor, however hinted that despite the current economic recession the budget would help in minimizing his cost which would be expended on other sectors in the state,
He said , “This budget comes in the wake of unprecedented economic challenges in our nation which have resulted in trying times for both the Federal and the State Governments. I come here today with a deep sense of gratitude to Almighty God as I recognize that despite these obvious challenges, our State has navigated these troubled economic times with relative success when we look at the context of Nigeria as a whole.”
“I believe that Ogun State is on the threshold of an important phase of its transformation journey and the expenditure plans that we seek to focus upon in Fiscal Year 2017 will be critical in repositioning our dear State. This next phase of our journey will be unlocked by the provision of critical infrastructure alongside the facilitation of more inclusive economic growth for our people and this must therefore be our emphasis.”
“The challenges of recent times have been well documented and are familiar to us all. You will recall that the price of crude oil fell to a 2015 low of $36 per barrel and it was felt that we had seen the worst. Little did we know that we would see a further drop to a low point of $27 per barrel in 2016. The impact of this collapse in price has been worsened by internal challenges in Nigeria’s oil producing region, particularly the activities of the Niger Delta militants who continue to bomb and blow up pipelines, which has seen production levels collapse to as low as 1.4m barrels per day, well below the budgeted level of 2.2m barrels per day”.
“The impact on Federal Government and by extension, State Government finances has been acute. This year has been characterized by sharp reductions in Federal Allocations, which necessitated budget support and various other Federal Government interventions. These initiatives, no doubt, have helped us as a State but are clearly inadequate and we will therefore have to think out of the box if we are to prepare adequately for the future that our people desire.”
“Our intention to reposition the State’s economy requires us to continue to place greater emphasis on capital expenditure. This budget mix will support both the maintenance of existing infrastructure and allow the continued execution of more capital projects”.
Amosun, however spoke on the performance of the 2016 budget, saying that the budget as at October has recorded 56.2percent implementation despite the limited resources needed to prosecute some of its programmes.
He, therefore , praised the House and the entire citizens of the state for their unflinching support to his government while charging the House to to quickly passed the proposed budget.
Speaking earlier, The Speaker of the House, Hon. Suraj Adekunmbi Ishola stressed that he would do everything possible to make sure that the residents of the state continue to enjoy the dividends of democracy.
His words “As a legislature, we have been able to forge ahead, partake and contribute to the socio-economic development of Ogun State. We stand tall among the Houses of Assembly in the country. However, we must realise that all we do is like playing more floors on a building which, of course has been given solid foundation by previous engineers.”
“I wish to state that while the Executive Arm of Government has been engrossed with the task of reconstructing the State, this legislature is backing the Executive up by focusing on its constitutional responsibilities of making laws for the good governance of the State and a host of other duties.”
“In the current year, a total number of three bills have already been passes into law, prominent among which are the ones on Local Government Administration and Crime. This legislature is presently considering the passage of four other bills which eventually passed into law, will address issues affecting accident victims management, magistrate courts administration, customary courts administration.”
“It is a thing of joy for me to inform your Excellency that this Assembly has opened a new chapter in its legislative activities and initiatives with the commencement of the presentation of Private Member Bills, the recently passed Land Grabbing and Anti-kidnapping bill that have been signed into law is an initiative that began as a private member bill this laying credence to the forefront position this State is placed among the comity of States, vibrant in legislative activities.”
“Our profound gratitude goes to the good people of Ogun State for their strong support for the present administration over the years and bearing in mind the current economic challenges. I also wish to solicit for their continued support to ensure further delivery of all our election promises tailored towards their political and economic advancement.”
Those who graced the occasion included Former Head of State, Ernest Sonekan, the Former Military Administrator of the State, Oladayo Popoola, former Military Administrator of Ondo State, Ekundayo Opaleye, former Military Administrator of Ogun State, Rasheed Raji, Senator Iyabo Anisulowo, Olori Yetunde Gbadebo, Chief Doja Adewolu, Justice Demola Adetokunbo.
