Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, on Friday, signed the State’s 2023 Appropriation Bill, christined, “Budget of Sustainable Development” into law in Saki, Oke Ogun zone of the state.
The governor, who assented to the bill at the headquarters of the Oyo State Agribusiness Development, Agency, (OYSADA), in Saki, lauded the lawmakers for timely passage of the bill.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, quoted the governor as saying that the budget would aid the completion of some projects as well as the state’s development initiatives.
He added that his administration has been able to increase the state’s Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) to over N3.8 billion.
He said: “I have just signed the budget into law right here in Saki.
“So, history has been made. Let me use this opportunity to thank the Speaker and other members of the Assembly for the speedy passage of the budget.
“I learnt that the lawmakers stayed very late to sign the budget yesterday( Thursday) and also that they were able to manage the House of Assembly workers, PASAN.
“This is a budget of sustainable development. We know that some of the projects and the work we started must be completed in 2023. So, this is a budget that has N155,677,143,034.34 for recurrent expenditure and N154,755,366,965.64 for capital. You will notice that recurrent is slightly higher than the capital expenditure and this is because we are going into a transition period.
“In 2023, a new Assembly will come in even though I hope that majority of the current members will still be returned.
“Right now, we have 27 PDP members in the State Assembly. For 2023, it will be 32/32.”
The Governor stated that the state’s budget has always performed above 50 percent, since he came into office adding that the decision to sign the budget in Saki was historic.
He also said that the decision was a testimony to the fact the state’s economy is integrated across all zones.
He added: “We are here in Saki in Oke-Ogun zone 2. Saki is the biggest economy around this place. Now, we can drive from Iseyin to Ogbomoso, though the road is not completely open, but we will complete it under the 2023 budget. Out of the 78km, I believe about 50km of it has already been tarred. The artwork to link everywhere remains only 10km. So, I know we have broken the back of that project, and in this 2023 budget, we have made provisions to finish that road.
“There are other additions under Omituntun 2.0 that we have anticipated what will happen, and we have made adequate provision in this budget I have just signed. “There will be solid minerals development and Tourism.
“Two days ago at he security council meeting, we were told by DSS officials that they arrested a trailer with 25 tonnes of lithium.
“Yes, they are mining lithium, which is the new gold, and Oyo State is a major lithium belt. So, we have to add solid mineral development to the mix and also tourism. I said tourism because every weekend, you can hardly get a hotel room in Ibadan. If you go to the hinterland, you will see that we are truly blessed and our environment is quite scenic.
“To ensure that we operate in a safe and secure environment, the 500 newly recruited Amotekun personnel have been trained, and their deployment would begin tomorrow, 24th of December, 2022.”
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Prof Misbau Babatunde, said that the budget is an inclusive one and that the whole Oyo State has made input into it.
He said : “The budget we are signing today is an inclusive one that the whole of Oyo State has made their input into it. When we came for consultative meeting here and other zones, the people told us what they wanted the government to put in the budget.
“We collated everything, and we met in Ibadan and came up with a conclusion.
“We did not just allocate figures for the budget, it was a rigorous project that science, data and logic guided.
“The figure of the budget we are signing today is what will improve the welfare of the good people of Oyo State. Our budget was not performing very well when we came into government. It was 27 per cent. But now, we have been going above 50 per cent.
“We really appreciate all the support you have given to us and we promise that the budget will be adequately implemented.”
Earlier in his remarks, the Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, reiterated that the budget is a product of the synergy and collaboration by all the three arms of government in the state.
The signing of the budget was witnesed by the state deputy Governor, Barrister Bayo Lawal, Commissioners, Local government chairmen, Traditional Rulers, PDP leaders, and members others.
